


Same Blue Sky

by Trilies



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Bodyguard, Businessmen, M/M, Shopping Malls, Time Travel, a dash of solarpunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 86,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27821263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trilies/pseuds/Trilies
Summary: Claude von Riegan has a lot on his plate, especially with the latest Project Verdant Wind that his company is seeking to establish. He doesn't really have time for a dating life, or leisure, or anything like that. Verdant Wind is one of the most important things his life will ever accomplish, in more ways than one.So, you know, that's when life literally drops a medieval knight from ancient Faerghus right at his feet.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 32
Kudos: 97





	1. Dawn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lesbianryuko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianryuko/gifts).



"Claude.... Have you considered taking a rest...?"  
  
Oh boy. Claude pushes himself back into his chair with a slight smile, the heels of his palms digging into his desk. "Hilda must have sent you in here, huh?" he asks her. "Because she knows that there's not a person alive who could refuse anything you ask without feeling like a terrible person."  
  
Marianne jolts a little bit, looking incredibly embarrassed.... and so Claude very much suspects that he's right. Well, the unfortunate thing is that he can't really argue with that logic. It's almost less because Marianne is here, honestly, but if his friends and coworkers have gotten to this point, well... Standing up, he starts to roll his neck. Oof, yeah, he really can feel the way his neck is cracking from how he's been hunched over his desk, pouring over documents and ideas...  
  
While he stretches his arms and gets the cracking out of his joints, Claude looks back to Marianne. "So how is everyone else doing?" he asks her. "I know it's a bit of a big job that I've tasked you all with this time."  
  
Marianne shakes her head, even though they both know it's true. Golden Deer is a business he's proud to have built up, and the people he has as a part of it are some of the best, he knows that for a fact... But that's not enough all on its own. Not for what his father has asked of his children. For that kind of competition, even more has to be done.  
  
Ugh... He'd be glad to just run his business as it is, and now that just can't happen. "Leonio and Ignatz are looking into different mines for the project," she tells him. "They've compiled some reports, thanks to Lysithea's work, and they say that they're both going out tomorrow for a better look."  
  
So what that means is that he'll be down two people here in the headquarters... If it's Leonie, then Raphael can probably pick up on some of her work, although he's not quite as observant as she is... If they weren't so stretched for time, then he could pair someone up with him like Lysithea for that aspect, but she has so many of her own reports to handle-  
  
"Claude? ...Claude." Blinking, he snaps out of his thoughts. Marianen's hands are clasped together, a frown on her face. "...I don't think that's what counts as resting... Although I hope I'm not being too bossy..."  
  
Hearing Marianne call herself bossy in any fashion is enough to make Claude laugh, and his arms swing down to his sides again. "Marianne, if you're bossy, then I must be an absolute hellion," he teases. "No, it's fine. I guess I'll step out for a break. Make sure Lorenz doesn't lock me out of my own office again, alright?"  
  
Not that it's Lorenz's style to do something so passive aggressively sneaky, or at least not in that manner. He's the type of person who would stand in front of Claude's office and start hassling him, for better or worse. In fact, he has done that.  
  
For the time being... He steps out of the room, and glances down the large hallway. Golden Deer really is his pride and joy, here in Leicester, with a lot of things which make it feel like... somewhere that's actually home for him. One of those things would be the bright colors which dedicate themselves all throughout the building as he makes his way through, from the brilliant tiles along the floor to splashes of artwork from local creators they all handpicked themselves. And yet what he loves the most out of the Golden Deer building...  
  
Marianne was right to get him out of the office, as was Hilda for convincing her to go in the first place. As he steps out onto the rooftop courtyard, Claude tilts his head back and enjoys the feel of the sun along his face. This is what he needed: the feel of everything waiting for him outdoors, from the heat warming him up to the breeze that immediately cools it. Feeling a lot better just with this alone, he goes over to where the railing is, and looks out into the city. His city, the one tied to him through his mother: Derdriu.  
  
"I really do wish I could enjoy you a lot better," he murmurs to the city sprawled out before him, a beautiful garden of brilliant green and the shine of solar panels. Thanks to a lot of connections that he made all by himself - that he _had_ to make by himself - Golden Deer has the perfect view. Not that far in the distance lays the ocean, glittering and a pristine blue that's taken years to keep that way. A part of him is almost jealous that he couldn't have been the one to bring it to such a beautiful state, but he'd be competing with a guy who died long before he was even so much as conceived if he tried.  
  
Well, even if he's jealous, he's even more appreciative. Through the efforts of a lot of other people, he's been brought to this place in this time, able to see how much beauty the world has to offer. Now, all he has to do is strive to improve it even more, and, you know, trivial little things like wage a quiet little war against the rest of his siblings.  
  
Easy peasy.  
  
Claude shakes his head, and steps away from the railing. No, that kind of thinking is going to make him start thinking about the project that Golden Deer is working on in the first place, and that's kind of the _opposite_ of what he's supposed to be doing right now. While this kind of work isn't the kind that can be seen from an outside perspective, well, that just means he's his own keeper, and he's going to have to deal with that with all the responsibility which comes with it. What a bother.  
  
All he can do for the time being is figure out a way to distract himself, in a way that isn't the usual work. That just gets him yelled at by some of his friends, after all. Turning away from the city view, he starts to wander through the courtyard - although it's more like a vegetable garden, honestly. Just a few things for some of them to take home when the harvest comes around - mostly Raphael, Leonie, and Lorenz, the three who appreciate it the most. Claude crouches by a few of the plots, breathes in the smell of flourishing greenery. It's all coming along great... easier than some things that happen in his life, at the very least.  
  
Colors that glitter, jewel-like, catch his eye, and Claude looks up. In all his meanderings, he's ended up right at the little greenhouse that takes up a small portion of the roof. Well.... It's certainly more colorful than the average greenhouse, but just the sight of its brilliant colors has him grinning. Ignatz's own private experiment.... Will different colors affect the flowers that grow there? The intake of solar energy, or the magic that hums throughout the world?  
  
And along with that....  
  
Even if he hadn't meant to come here, specifically, Claude supposes there's no harm in stopping by. Clicking open the door into the greenhouse, Claude slips inside. If being out against the railing, amongst the plantlife, had made him feel refreshed... He supposes that the greenhouse, with its kaleidoscope of color, makes him feel as though he's in a dream. It's an ethereal kind of existence, one that always makes people feel a little spacey, and that's a feeling that certainly fits the other purpose of the greenhouse, the purpose for which there are four little shrines set up in a neat row amongst the flowers in the very back.  
  
It's not exactly a formal place of worship, but it does well enough for a private little thing amongst those in Golden Deer who care. He knows that Ignatz loves it, and that Leonie often comes up for some peace and quiet, maybe a little bit of talking to the Gods. Claude is pretty sure they never answer back... but he can understand the temptation to do so. It's almost part of why he settles down on the bench placed before the little row, right in front of the small brick wall which keeps all the flowers contained. Reclining along whole of it, Claude folds his hands behind his head and closes his eyes. Through his eyelids, he can still see imprints of the colors which filter into the greenhouse...  
  
Maybe he'll take a nap, he muses. That would indisputably be considered resting, and, honestly, he probably needs it. It's not the most comfortable place to sleep, but for just a short while...  
  
"You're going to fall off."  
  
Claude's eyes snap open - he hadn't even _heard_ the greenhouse door open, no footsteps, nothing. The reason why quickly becomes apparent as his eyes immediately land upon a face right over his. For a second, even his quick mind can't quite understand exactly what he's seeing. With the angle the person is at, they should be literally right on top of him, their face perpendicular to his. But he doesn't _feel_ anything, and a quick glance down shows...  
  
Oh. Hm. Yeah, he supposes he wouldn't feel them, if they're just floating there.  
  
Claude says the first thing that comes to mind. "If you teach me how to do the neat trick you have going on right now, I don't think me falling off of the bench would be a concern."  
  
"I don't think so," the person above him says, and then floats back. As they do so, the world seems to... _waver_. There's no other way for Claude to quite describe it. It's almost like when he's gotten nausea headaches, and the world doesn't seem exactly _right_ in some minuscule but fundamental way. Yet there's no pounding in his head, no shifting uneasiness that goes down from his skull and is mimicked in his stomach. The world is simply _strange_ , and he can't exactly explain how.  
  
Sometimes, in places where the world is a little more magic filled than is regular, he's read that humans can have a reaction that's a little similar to this. Some people's tolerance really is abysmal to it, as a matter of fact. In contrast to human weakness, wyverns and pegasi don't seem to mind them as much. He wonders how Mori would feel, in an environment like this, with a person just floating there in mid air like no one else is capable of...  
  
Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Claude grinds his palm down against the stone of the bench. The grit aggravates his skin, the warmth of the sun concentrated into the solid material. He's awake. Granted, he could still be hallucinating, but he's pretty sure that's not the case. "Now no need to be so unfriendly," Claude says. "Although I suppose I was a little upfront, wasn't I? Well, I hope you'll forgive me, and allow me to wine and dine you a little better, now that I'm not so caught off guard. Is it alright if I could know your name, Mystery Floating Person?"  
  
For anyone who doesn't know him, maybe he'd sound far too flippant for a situation like this, and no doubt attribute it to him just being caught off guard. For anyone else who _does_ , they know this is how he always is. After all... It's better to never let anyone else know what he's thinking or feeling, never let them know he's as scared or worried as he truly is. People take advantage of things like that.  
  
It's a lesson he knows well.  
  
Whether or not this particular person knows he's lying, it's hard to tell. They have a face like a cat - not physically, of course, with the adorable little mouth and the whiskers, but in terms of how little they let on. Their eyes remain wide and blank, and their mouth doesn't have a single curve of emotion. All they do is cross their arms, pale green hair framing their face and a finger resting along their chin.  
  
"I'm Byleth, of the winds," they say, and for a second Claude thinks he's misheard them, because that - can't be right at all. It doesn't matter if he's heard right or not, however, because they keep going. "There's not really a lot of time... So I'm just going to say I'm sorry about how rushed this is, but I'll be sure to take him back again after we fix what got broken."  
  
That is a _lot_ of information with absolutely no context, and Claude is already opening his mouth to ask every single question he can think of... but then he blinks, and the person, Byleth, is gone.  
  
Instead, there's a glowing circle with some sort of strange flame-like symbol right in the middle, hovering in the air right underneath the glass of the greenhouse. Claude has maybe a split second to come to terms with this before, with no particular ceremony besides the light of the symbol burning ever brighter, the sigil spits out something down to the ground, and disappears like mist in sunlight.  
  
_A lot sure just happened_.  
  
What Claude really wants to do is take a nice deep breath, sit in place for a while, and maybe yell, really loudly, "What the FUCK". Unfortunately, he's pretty sure that he doesn't have that time, considering there's still a very large lump of blue, white, and black laying there on the greenhouse floor. Claude allows himself the deep breath, but then he pushes himself off of the bench so that he can deal with what's right in front of him.  
  
One has to start with the mess at their feet before they can deal with the mess everywhere else, after all.  
  
As it turns out, it's not just a lump of fabric that has been dumped in his greenhouse. It's an actual _person_ , wearing the kind of heavy cloak with fur trim that _really_ doesn't belong in the early fall of a coastal city like Derdriu. Cautiously, Cloude crouches down before him, and carefully takes stock of this sudden... person, who almost literally fell out of the sky. Well, the ceiling of the Golden Deer greenhouse, anyway.  
  
The good news is that he's breathing. Maybe a little labored, but still breathing. The second good news is that the color of his skin looks good so far - he's not too pale, doesn't look too flushed, nothing that would _immediately_ indicate any signs of sickness. Really, all things considered, he's doing pretty good for a guy who just _fell out of a portal_ from a kind of serious height to be bellyflopping from.  
  
Still.... It's hard to say if he has any broken bones or anything, not unless Claude wants to risk moving his body around a lot more and possibly make it _worse_. The most he dares to do is carefully reach over and roll the guy onto his back. That way, at least he's properly aligned, and, if Claude needs to call an ambulance, he's all prepared.  
  
For the immediate time being, that's the most he can do. A "wait and see" approach might be better for at least the first few minutes... so Claude stops taking in the guy's condition, and actually takes in what he _looks_ like. And, if he may be so bold considering the very bizarre and potentially concerning circumstances.... It's not a bad view.  
  
Now, Claude knows his fair share of handsome guys. He likes to think he's a particularly fine specimen himself, for example, even if it has taken a lot of stubbornness and maybe a little dash of spite to get to that level of personal pride. However, he also knows plenty of handsome and pretty guys that _aren't_ him, and he'll gladly boast about that fact if it means he gets to boast about his friends.  
  
Ignatz has a gentle gaze that makes a person feel appreciated, second only to the voice that has swept some people off their feet. Raphael is built like a historic castle that's seen more sieges than some people have been alive and survived them all, but with the kind of warm smile with a golden retriever vibe. Then there's Lorenz, a guy who looks like a pretty boy up top, and then is almost _bizarrely_ chiseled underneath because of his own high standards.  
  
And now this guy... Just adding to the many attractive men Claude knows, with pale hair that spills across the floor, and a jawline that's strong enough to stand up to weight lifting champions. Underneath his cloak, Claude can just make out the details of plate armor, of all things, so dark that it fades into shadow... but, maybe most worrying of all is the eyepatch stretched across the handsome face, hiding the right eye - or whatever is left of it.  
  
Claude hopes it's not too bad, and that it's only an old injury. He still has absolutely no idea what's going on here... but he won't let this guy just end up on the streets when he's right here with a waiting hand and an open heart.  
  
If there's one bit of good news, it's that he doesn't have to wait for very long until those pretty eyelashes start to flutter along the man's cheeks, and an eye that's the color of the vast blue sky Claude so adores opens to focus right on him. For a moment, the look is foggy and dazed, confused - yeah, no wonder, right? Claude puts on his most reassuring smile. "Hey, don't move too much or too quickly for now," he says softly, knowing the exact right tone to use even if this isn't a situation he thinks _anyone_ has experienced ever before. "Everything is going to be alright."  
  
While the most important thing is making sure this guy doesn't have any injuries, he knows questions like that are more easily answered if the person answering isn't in a panic. Claude might not be a doctor or anything like that, but he still knows some basic first aid practices. If it doesn't look like this guy is in excruciating pain or confusion... He thinks they can take a few minutes just to get him settled.  
  
Slowly, that one eye takes in all of Claude that's there, staying on his face the longest before it begins to drift to the colorful ceiling above them. The ceiling, the flowers flourishing around all of them, and nothing but the endless sky beyond... Eventually, that gaze drifts back to Claude. "I did not realize the saints would be so beautiful," he murmurs, staring right into Claude's eyes.  
  
Okay. So. _Okay_. Claude bursts out laughing, even as he feels his cheeks burn hot. He was expecting maybe a lot of things, but he certainly wasn't expecting to be complimented right off the bat like _this_. "Sorry, I'm no saint welcoming you to the gates of the afterlife," he tells the man. "And you're not dead... probably." Claude isn't really a theologist or anything, so who knows? Maybe this world really is an afterlife for other people... but he kind of doubts it. "We can talk about how you got here later... but there are some more important things to take care of first. How do you feel? Any broken bones, or do you feel off somewhere? Sick?"  
  
Against what Claude would say is _his_ better judgment, the man starts to push himself up - a little shakily at first, presumably still in shock from whatever the hell has just happened, but stabilizing rather quickly. He starts to look around a lot more, now, in about as much disbelief as one could expect. Claude is still feeling it himself, although he hides it deep in his chest.  
  
"I- no, I do not feel ill," he says, a bit more stiffly than Claude would have, but hey - he's not going to judge a guy who very much could have ended up comatose from being dumped like he was. "I feel no injury, either. I... I apologize, but _where am I_?"  
  
Yeah, he was sort of expecting that. Rocking back on his heels now that it seems like his unexpected visitor is recovering just fine on his own, Claude smiles. A part of him still wants to scream incoherently in confusion and bewilderment. He swallows that back. As is so often the case, he's the guy being looked to for guidance, and so he needs to put on his best mask of calmness and levity. "Derdriu," he tells the guy. "Do you know where that is?"  
  
Because the guy is in plate armor, just fell through a portal in his greenhouse - Claude isn't entirely sure what to make of all of that, if he's honest. It's better to get _all_ the basics figured out, right away, before they take a chisel to the fine details.  
  
"Derdriu?" His brow furrows, concern weighing down every little bit of him. "I'm in the Alliance's capital? I didn't realize there was a magic that could actually teleport a person like this...."  
  
Claude's brain skips a couple of beats, and he has to pause in order to let it get back on track again. "When you say _the Alliance_... Do you mean the Leicester Alliance?" he asks casually, despite the fact that his heart is going a million miles per minute, faster than any wyvern diving.  
  
The guy blinks at him, either still too dazed to get the implications behind his words or just a little slow on the uptake. "Yes...?" he says, as though he can't understand why on earth Claude is asking that question of him at all. Well, it might be pretty confusing from his perspective...  
  
Still. They _very_ clearly have a lot to address right away. Claude takes another breath, and hopes it's not too obvious. "While this is definitely the Derdriu you're thinking of," he says, still casual, still relaxed, or at least putting on a great front of it, "it's not a city within the Leicester Alliance, or at least it's not anymore."  
  
The guy stares at him a little bit longer. Claude actually thinks he can see his brain falling apart in real time. "I am afraid... I do not understand," he says very slowly.  
  
Claude leans forward a little bit. "The Leicester Alliance formally dissolved centuries ago," he says, still keeping his tone light, but calm. He hopes it's grounding, but that's not really something he can say for certain. "It rejoined the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus at that time, alongside the Adreistian Empire, and it became the unified country of Fodlan."  
  
Oh. Yup. There it is - the sign of a man's brain crumbling inbetween his ears and behind his eyes.  
  
It's almost too incredible to be believed... but Claude supposes there's no point in dancing around the subject. Lacing his fingers together, he looks the man in the eyes and asks, "What year was it when you last checked?"  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
The poor guy's name is Dimitri, and, as it turns out, he _was_ from the Holy Kingdom Faerghus, a good few years before the Leicester Alliance even though about dissolving. Or maybe the right word would be that he is from it, except that period of time is long past any of them. Once he's had a few moments to lay back on the ground again, Claude manages to get the story out of him.  
  
A lot of it is stuff, in the general, that he already knows just because he had a decent education, and a lot more nosiness in him besides. There was a war going on before the Alliance dissolved, one that enveloped the three main countries of Fodlan: the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, the Leicester Alliance, and the Adrestian Empire. Apparently, they'd been on tense terms before, mainly because of actions by the Empire... But then an outside force has crashed down upon Fodlan as a whole, with no regard for borders between countries or what flag any particular individual flew.  
  
Five hundred years ago... is a lot of time for information to get lost, unfortunately. Claude has read a lot of books pertaining to that war, but most of it is just theories that have come from people afterwards. What information has survived from those times seems almost more poetric, metaphorical, than anything else - or so various scholars have theorized. Perhaps people were traumatized by all the dead that resulted from that war, or perhaps the opposing force was more that of nature than that of man. Yet there's no denying the damage that was wrought upon Fodlan thanks to that time.  
  
Fortunately, the three countries managed to emerge triumphant from that period of time, but not without no small amount of costs. Apparently, the empire had become a shell of itself, and needed support. The alliance realized that it needed some main leadership, since their way of doing things was taking far too long and so they needed a tie breaker. In the end... It had fallen upon the kingdom to take over, having managed to suffer less losses against all odds and despite there being some traitors in the ranks of the kingdom.  
  
Claude knows all of that, and that's what he tells Dimitri, once they get a handle on just _when_ the blond had come from. Thus, that leaves the only thing being Dimitri's own tale.  
  
"My close allies and I... were going on a pilgrimage so that we might receive blessings upon the saints," Dimitri tells him, fingers twitching upon his knee as he sits there in the greenhouse. Claude tucks that away in his brain. "However, when we arrived at the temple, we were suddenly besieged by our enemy. One of my closest allies, a professor of mine and a confidant, fought alongside me. Yet suddenly, out of nowhere, something strange happened.. I was overwhelmed by energy, and I found myself here." He shakes his head, starting to raise one hand to his head before he stops. Wise choice - he's still wearing gauntlets, and there are small claws formed at the fingertips.  
  
"All of that is fairly vague," Claude muses. "What kind of energy was it?" It's a well known fact, after all, that magic in the world was much stronger those years than it is currently. From what Claude understands, a few centuries ago - certainly well within Dimitri's time - magic was something that could even be harnessed by the average person.  
  
Well, maybe not _average_ , but... It was something that was possible. Perhaps it was a certain kind of magic that has lead to their current situation... Claude really wished the studies on magic today were a little more indepth. Either way, unfortunately the energy in question has waned over the many centuries. Still, maybe Dimitri would recognize what happened to him.  
  
With his brow furrowed, Dimitri thinks carefully and digs through his own memories. After a moment, he looks up with a sigh. "It... was like nothing else I had ever felt," he says. "I understand that does not tell much... Yet it was not the burn of a fire explosion, or the sting of wind. It felt more like..." He frowns, searching through his words for the right description. "It felt like the heartbeat of the world."  
  
"That's a rather poetic description," Claude says. What he doesn't say is that Dimitri is right; this doesn't really help him out too much. So neither him or Dimitri has the expertise to really solve what's going on here... So what is he supposed to do now? This was rather suddenly dropped onto his lap. He's dealing with a guy from actual centuries ago, after talking with someone he can only _presume_ is a divine being...  
  
There's the sound of armor clanking together lightly, and he looks up again to focus on Dimitri. The blond has focused back on the variety of little altars erected there in the foliage, surrounded by brilliant plant life that all stays in neat little rows by color. The ones that they're actively sitting before, the ones that are in the middle, are burning red and pale white flowers, but Dimitri's gaze only stays focused on them for a moment before he turns in his seat to focus on the one that's at his right. "You said... this place was a greenhouse?" he asks tentatively.  
  
Claude smiles. Well, if he was from that far back... Claude supposes it's only expected that Dimitri would be the kind of extremely religious person who would be interested in this kind of thing. "Mainly it's a greenhouse," he says, "but some of the people here at this building are a little religious as well, so they like having somewhere they can come and confess their troubles to, or properly pray. This greenhouse was specifically the idea of one of my friend's, Ignatz, and so I honored his choice for his religion to be represented here in a small way. I thought about doing something for myself... but I decided against it."  
  
"So you aren't religious either..."  
  
Well now, that's an interesting choice of words. Maybe he was wrong about this guy after all. Claude just smiles. "For me personally, it's always seemed like most gods and saints don't fuss about with this world very much. If there's anything us humans want to do, then we have to use our own minds and hands in order to accomplish it. I'm sure that's what they want as well." He laughs. "If the gods wanted to pamper us, they could have started a lot sooner! But, you know... Out of the religion here in Fodlan, I don't mind the four earthly saints at all."  
  
Dimitri smiles as well, almost in relief. "I see... I wonder if it was the Azure Moon that brought me here, then. If any saint would have meddled..." He trails off, shaking his head. "...I'm sorry. I'm trailing off... and there are more important things to deal with. I know that. It's simply... there is so much that I feel rather overwhelmed. I don't know where to start."  
  
"So you're just accepting at face value that I'm telling you the truth about time travel?" Claude asks, laughing. "It's really easy to kidnap you, Dimitri!"  
  
"You have given me no reason to doubt you," Dimitri says nobly, which sounds all very nice and mature until he gives a small huff at him. "Although you seem as though you would prefer it if I doubted you, or mistrusted you, as though you were some sort of scoundrel."  
  
Claude lets out a rather ugly snort of a laugh, and slaps his hand over his mouth as he tries to control himself. "That's the first time anyone has ever called me a _scoundrel_ ," he wheezes, grinning too wide for his mere hand to contain. "Usually they prefer much worse words!" And Claude is certain that he's heard them all, at this point, from family and strangers alike.  
  
Shaking his head, Dimitri crosses his arms. Claude would have thought that to be a lot more difficult while wearing plate, but apparently not. "Your sense of humor reminds me of a childhood friend's," he sighs, although he doesn't sound particularly judgmental about it. Simply exasperated - not too unlike how Lorenz gets, sometimes. That makes Claude smile even a little more, and he can feel some of the tension leaking from him. There's still a lot weighing down on him, and a lot more that he has to figure out with this strange issue on his hand... but it feels good to laugh. "Besides... For a lie like that, it would not last very long."  
  
"No, it wouldn't," Claude agrees, following Dimitri's gaze as it goes to the greenhouse doors. Out there lies a world not quite as intense as the inside of this brilliantly colored little space, dedicated to nature and a tiny little group of saints. "Well... I think now that we know as much as we're going to know about what happened, it's time to decide what's going to happen in the _future_."  
  
Dimitri nods, his expression going solemn. "I am as good as a man without home or family here," he says, although he doesn't seem too heartbroken over those words. It's not as though he's _happy_ , either, simply... accepting. "So, with that in mind... May I serve you, Claude?"  
  
...Okay. _Okay_. Claude had thought he'd hit the limit for the number of surprising things that could happen in a day, but apparently not. Recovering so that it doesn't look like he's going to do nothing but stare, Claude rakes a hand through his hair. "Let's back up a minute," he says. "I was expecting to talk with you about what kinds of things you want to do here, how you want to deal with traveling through time - things like that. But it sounds like, to me, that you've already decided on all of that on your own."  
  
At least Dimitri manages to look a little embarrassed, hands awkwardly folding over one another on his lap. "Oh.... I suppose I did. Rather, I assumed that it was a given conclusion. After all, I have no one here in this place. There is nowhere for me to return to. For whatever reason, the place I was left at was here at your feet over anyone else that exists. I must believe... Perhaps I _want_ to believe that it is for a reason, that I was put here before you. And even if there is not..." Dimitri shakes his head. "As I said before: I know no other person, not in this place, not that I know of. You... are the only person I am able to ask."  
  
Well... Claude can't entirely say he's wrong. For the immediate time being, Dimitri's options seem rather limited, at least right now in the immediate present, and Claude has to admit that he's reluctant to let Dimitri just go off and meet _whoever_. Either they think that Dimitri is having some sort of episode from some sort of mental illness, or they _believe_ him, and, well, that could be weird and dangerous all in its own right.  
  
Letting out a breath, he stands up properly so that he can stretch his arms out again and clear his head out a little more. "You're right there," he concedes. Claude supposes he should be more grateful that Dimtiri doesn't have anything else he wants to do right off the top of his head, like gathering information or technology to bring back with him to the past. Maybe that will change in the future, as Dimitri adjusts more from the shock of traveling through literal time, but until then... "I'm not sure what I can have you do around here, but I'll see what I can dig up. I agree that there has to be a reason that you were dropped at this particular place and moment as well, you know."  
  
It doesn't escape his attention that the tension in Dimitri's shoulders and hands eases up almost instantaneously, and Dimitri rises to his feet as well. "I will make sure you have no reason to worry," he says, which is fine. And _then_ he sinks down onto one knee right before Claude, a hand over his heart. "I pledge I will do anything for you that I am capable of."  
  
"Whoa whoa whoa, this really isn't necessary," Claude laughs, reaching down to try and pull Dimitri up. Plate armor is a little tricky to work with, but it's helped with Dimitri following Claude's urging. "I'm no big deal around here, so you can relax with the formalities. Rather, instead of being stuffy, why don't I introduce you to your first taste of what the future will be like?"  
  
He doesn't really wait for Dimitri to give him any feedback. Instead, he guides him along the various colors that line up the path back to the door of the greenhouse, and a part of him, the eager part always wanting for new information, new experiences, can't help but make his heart beat faster. After all.... Who else can say that they're introducing someone from the past to the future?  
  
Dimitri sticks to him tight as they step out into the fresh air, and his sigh of relief doesn't escape Claude. The greenhouse isn't a place for fur lined cloaks... and it's not the kind of place that has Dimitri's eye go wide in wonder, head turning this way and that as he tries to take in the entire courtyard garden. After so long, Claude wonders if the sight has just become something old to him... Now, with Dimitri crouching down in front of some summertime berries, everything feels so beautiful again. Just like the first day it all bloomed for him and his friends.  
  
This probably wasn't what Marianne or Hilda had in mind when they wanted him to take a break... Still, besides the whole time travel aspect, Claude likes to think they wouldn't really mind. He really is taking a rest as he just stands there, watching Dimitri absolutely marvel at how well the garden is flourishing, from the fruit trees they have lined up in a neat little row, to the various berry bushes that are fat with greenery. Faerghus... right. Even now, it's a place that doesn't lend itself well to a lot of crops, unlike Derdriu and a lot of other places that used to be the Leicester Alliance Dimitri knows of. Claude is more than happy to let Dimitri appreciate the foliage.  
  
But even more important to that...  
  
Claude watches Dimitri carefully, waiting for him to realize... and he's not disappointed when Dimitri finally takes in just where they are. He comes to an abrupt stop, staring in absolute awe at the entire city stretching out beneath them, just past the fencing of the rooftop. He walks slow, as though he's in a dream, until he's right there are the edge. Claude joins him, and savors that shine to his eyes.  
  
This, more than anything else, is the kind of thing he loves. It's what he's loved ever since he was a child, digging through books and websites just to find things to tell people - whether it was something new that they didn't know before, or something they adored so much that they'd never get sick of hearing it over and over. It's why a part of him, honestly, wanted to be a teacher when he was younger... He wants to see people's eyes light up when they see or understand something they've never felt before.  
  
He wants people to feel like he feels, every time he understands another part of the incredible world he lives in.  
  
"I only ever went to Derdriu once," Dimitri murmurs, entranced by the sprawling and massive city that shines so brightly in the sun. "It wasn't even a visit that I could take the time to enjoy... but I still remember how it looked back then. The difference between my memories, and what I can actually see..." He shakes his head slowly, unable to close his eye to Derdriu. To the city that Claude gladly calls his home.  
  
Leaning against the fence himself, Claude smiles. "I've seen pictures on how it's changed over the years, but they were only ever pictures," he says, drinking in the view. Now that he has company that's never seen a city like this, he wonders just how much is completely foreign to Dimitri. Having to think of everything like that, approaching it in a new light... It's like a delightful little puzzle, something he's never gotten to solve before. "This must be even more startling from your point of view, huh?"  
  
"It's incredible." Dimitri keeps looking everything over, again and again, as though he can't decide where to stare at most. There really must be so much. "I never would have imagined buildings that can become this tall - the one we stand atop now even has a garden dwelling on it! And there's so much _life_ here... If one had so many plants growing in Fhirdiad, they'd be called a nuisance. And the way everything shines as though stars fell down to earth..."  
  
On some level, he knows Dimitri is probably seeing the way the sun shines along the windows in the city. However, there's something else that's even brighter which his brand new friend must be thinking about, and Claude nods down towards a particularly bright row.  
  
"Those are called solar panels," he explains, feeling his chest swells with pride. It's something his family can lay a claim to, on his mother's side - the first ones who realized the potential behind harnessing the sun, as though they were plants. "The details would probably be too bothersome to explain, but, basically... They're made of a material that takes in light, and we use that light to make energy... And that energy gets put towards a whole lot of things." Things he can't wait to show Dimitri.  
  
"The sun's light into energy," Dimitri murmurs, focusing now on some of the very panels Claude has mentioned. Faintly, he hopes that the guy doesn't burn his eyes out from staring too long. It's not exactly like looking _directly_ into the sun, but, you know. It's still not exactly _good_. "That's... unbelievable. And you said you use the energy for a lot of things?"  
  
"You'll see when we start making our way through the building," Claude says, glancing towards the door which leads down to the stairwell. "Although, before we even think about leaving the roof... Dimitri, I'm going to take you to a doctor before we head anywhere else, got it?"  
  
That's enough to make Dimitri drag his attention away from the city, brow furrowed. "A doctor? Do I seem unwell, Claude? I thought I felt perfectly fine, despite what I had just experienced..."  
  
"Well, there is that, just as a precaution," Claude says, shrugging. "However, what I'm more concerned about is... Hm. Well, we'd call it an immune system here in this time period. Basically, I'm concerned that there might be so many different sicknesses here that your body isn't used to, because they weren't around in your time, or maybe just not in Faerghus. So, basically, we're going to a doctor to make sure that won't be an issue."  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
Claude wonders how many times he's going to get that question, or variants of it. He wonders if he'll even care, if it means getting to talk about so many different things, and maybe even discovering new knowledge for himself. "Basically, they're going to give you some medicine that will help you from getting seriously sick in the future," Claude says. "Which I know must sound pretty backwards, huh?"  
  
Slowly, Dimitri is starting to smile as well, bit by bit. "It sounds very backwards," he agrees. "But then, if one had told me not long ago that gardens could be built upon the very tops of towers, I would have found that backwards as well. I think... there is going to be much to learn."  
  
"Well, the good news is that I'm more than glad to help." Claude pushes himself away from the edge of the building. "In more ways than one, in fact! Is that armor uncomfortable at all?"  
  
Blinking, Dimitri looks down at himself - all dark metal that seems to absorb the light almost as much as the solar panels, heavy fur lined cloak. "I have dealt with far more uncomfortable things," he says, even though his cheeks are a little flushed and there's a bit of sweat which has gathered along his forehead where that blond hair sticks to his skin.  
  
"I don't think that's quite what I asked, but okay," Claude says, shrugging easily. "Listen... You can stay up here as long as you like, okay? I'm going to see if I can scrounge up some spare clothing that might fit you. We have to have _something_ around here..."  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
When he tells Hilda and Marianne that he thinks he's going to take a little bit of a break for a few days, work from home, they're not as elated as one thinks they _would_ be after forcing him to relax in the first place. Claude knows that the reason is because they're convinced that he'll just do a lot more work with a lot less interruptions when he's tucked away in his apartment. They might even be correct on that front... for any normal day.  
  
But they don't stop him in the end, and he manages to dig out some of Raphael's clothing after texting the man to find where he stores spares in the office. They're a bit too large on Dimitri, but he rather expected that. _No one_ is as broad and built as Raphael is, and Claude has seen a lot of people pass through in Derdriu. The tank top's arm holes are large enough to show off the vast majority of Dimitri's sides, and the jeans require at little rolling up, although not as much as Claude would have thought. Much more pressing is the fact that they need to wind the belt tight to keep the pants on his body.  
  
It's a little amusing to see Dimitri marvel at the fabric that's so different than he's used to, and takes a lot of work to pack his armor into boxes that can be carried around... But the real joy comes when they finally move down into the building itself. It would take a lot of explanation about who this random guy is that is running around... so Claude decides to just opt out of that entirely as he guides Dimitri down the enormous amount of stairs, although he's sure that his reaction to an elevator would be a delight. Besides... It might be better this way. Give him a little breathing space, time to recover when it's just nothing but walls.  
  
Because he's not surprised when they step down into the lobby of the Golden Deer building, and he hears Dimitri's breath catch behind him.  
  
Down below, the lobby is almost as lush and thriving as the rooftop, although it's a considerably smaller space and made more in mind for relaxation and waiting around than anything else. From the corner of his eye, Claude can see Holst talking about something over at the reception desk, and a couple of people relaxing in the lobby just as a break from the sun beating outside while what looks like wyvern racing plays on the television hanging from the wall.  
  
He has to tug Dimitri a little bit to drag him away from staring at the television especially, even if it's from a distance - he _especially_ doesn't want to Holt to catch wind of anything he's doing, considering how easily he snitches to Hilda whether he means to or not.  
  
"What was that small panel upon the wall?" Dimitri asks him almost the second that the two of them are out onto the streets, holding the box with his armor close to his chest. "The one with the- moving pictures?" He sounds uncertain about it, but just that assessment is enough to make Claude smile. He thought he'd have to field questions about miniature wyverns flying around...  
  
Once again, the details would just go over this poor guy's head. Claude opts for something simpler. "You know how books record words?" he says, making sure to keep a close eye on Dimitri. The guy looks like he might wander into the bicycle lane - busy and thriving as usual - and get run over. It's the least worrying thing, because at least he's not in danger of running into a car if he gets run over by a bike... Still, Claude would prefer neither option happen. "Well, for things like a television, it's the same thing, but for images. And how that happens... Let's just say that there are other devices involved, and that they're all a bit complicated, alright?"  
  
"You can record images..." Dimitri sounds a little bit starstruck by the idea, or maybe it's because he's watching a car pass him by. Claude would have thought he'd be a lot more skittish about some of the traffic... Yet there's only complete fascination in his gaze, and he almost walks into another person if not for Claude's hand tugging him out of the way. "Is that what you said solar panel energy is used for?"  
  
"I mean, that's certainly one thing," Claude says easily, perking up when he spots the subway entrance. There, perfect - he didn't want to get lost or anything by accident as he's been guiding Dimitri about. It felt like he could have missed it pretty easily. "But you saw all the lights we had in the stairwell, didn't you? Those were also powered by the sun - same for these lights here." He nods his head towards the small lights lining the walls of the subway stairs. Even in such a strange situation, Dimitri isn't questioning Claude's lead at all... "But what we're going to use to get to the doctor's place is powered by something else entirely."  
  
"There's something else? - Oh!" Dimitri almost comes to a complete stop at the bottom of the stairs, and Claude has to patiently (with more than a little amusement) tug him to the side so that he's not blocking all the foot traffic. Still, he can see why Dimitri is so surprised. The underground of Derdriu is almost as impressive as what is right over their heads. While there's a stretch of hallway and open area with plenty of benches, and machines to draw out money, what's really fascinating are the places beyond the gates leading into the waiting areas for the subway cars.  
  
In a lot of ways... It's like a miniature Derdriu, just hidden underneath the streets and buildings of this magnificent city. There are various little stores about, from fast food restaurants to cafes, and a few things to help whittle away the time if someone is waiting for their train. Nothing too huge or fancy - it's not meant to be a fully functioning city in its own right. Still, there's an arcade with prizes to win, and a bookstore in case someone needs something to occupy the ride itself. Little things like that.  
  
"Need another minute?" he asks Dimitri with a wide grin, ignoring how some people stare a tad. It's only _some_ , after all; big cities like Derdriu attract all sorts of strange little things and events and people. If the average resident of this city stopped for every single one of those... Claude doesn't think there'd be any hours left in the day. Sure enough, people's gazes pass over them, when they land at all, and he's able to focus on Dimitri completely.  
  
Dimitri adjusts the box of armor he's holding close to his chest; Claude wonders what people will think he's carting around in there. "Do-" He pauses, looking past Claude to the stream of people that are constantly moving past the two of them. He lowers his voice for a little bit of discretion, which Claude has to admit he appreciates. "Do doctors live beneath the ground? Has the culture in Derdriu changed, and they are not permitted to work under the light of the sun...?"  
  
Oh, by the tits of the saints- Claude has to choke back his laugh, taking in a wheezing breath and smacking his hand over his mouth for good measure. It takes a few minutes for him to recover, shoulders shaking violently and tears of mirth pricking at his eyes. While the world and everything in it becomes blurry, he can at least still see the way Dimitri's expression goes flat.  
  
"Oh," Claude gasps after a moment, feeling maybe a _little_ bad but not too much. From what he can make out of Dimitri's expression, his newfound friend is more exasperated than insulted or embarrassed. "Boy! Oh boy. That's - nope!"  
  
"Then I shall assume that this is something else," Dimitri says dryly, waiting as Claude wipes the tears from his eyes. "Should I be impressed that you managed to hold back your amusement at my predicament for this long?"  
  
"Hey, don't be like that," Claude chuckles, finally recovering himself properly. "Look - statistically, you were _eventually_ going to say something that was at least a little odd by the usual standards around here just because you're not familiar with how things are. I just wasn't expecting it to be _that_." He takes another deep breath that pops out of him again, and sweeps his hair back. It's a little hard to hold back on his grin, unfortunately for Dimitri. "Anyway, this is the subway system. It's used as a way to get around the city really quickly."  
  
Now that he's stopped laughing and some of Dimitri's amazement has been tempered by exasperation, Claude continues to guide him along to the gates. It doesn't take too much for him to be recognizes - just a quick swipe of his card a couple of times, and he's allowed through with Dimitri following right behind. As they go through into the rest of the subway section, Dimitri twists his head around to look back at the gates. "What was that?"  
  
"The subway gates? Basically consider them taxes for people to pay that goes strictly to the maintenance of this system that we're using right now," Claude explains as the two of them walk along, passing by the various smells of food. Hm. That reminds him... "If you earn a certain amount of money, then either it automatically comes out of the taxes that you pay, or, when you use the system, it deducts portions of it automatically." He smiles. "Although for those who don't earn that amount of money, they're given a free pass - rather literally. It's meant to balance things out."  
  
"Something to even out the odds between those less fortunate," Dimitri muses, not really paying much mind to where Claude is pulling him along. "I like that... Trying to squeeze blood from a stone is either worthless or cruel, so I like this much better. Although I imagine the amount of paperwork and oversight must be immense..."  
  
"Yup," Claude says casually. "But that much paperwork means there's always something for someone to do, and I've heard they've made it easier in the last decade to learn the skills required for it. It's a pretty good job, even if the math is absolutely mind numbing."  
  
Dimitri nods, still fascinated despite being told how boring it all is, before he realizes they've come to a stop. "What are we...?"  
  
"I'm getting us a little bit of food," Claude says simply, hands tucked into his pocket. "Or, at least, _I'm_ certainly getting some food. It's been a huge day already, for both of us. But if you'd like, you could go find a bench to sit down on. I know that box must be heavy as hell."  
  
Immediately, there's a shake of his head. "I am fine," Dimitri insists. "But are you sure this is not more of a strain upon your finances? I do not want to be a burden..."  
  
"Then you can make it up to me later," Claude says idly as the line moves forward. "Don't worry about it. Anything you don't eat, I will, so it works out for me either way. Do you like arancini-? Actually, nevermind, it'll probably be fine."  
  
And it is fine. He loves the arancini of this place, made with a vegan mozzarella and stuffed so full of rice that just makes it such a delight to bite into even past the crunch. Dimitri certainly seems to love it too, balancing his own little bowl atop his box of armor and giving back the basket to Claude where it can be dumped in the appropriate bin. In fact, maybe he loves it even more than Claude, considering the sad look he makes as the bowls are carried away. It makes him smile, just a bit.  
  
He'll have to figure out what it is that Dimitri likes so much about arancini. Neither of them know how long he's going to be here, after all... So they may as well make it an enjoyable stay.  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
Fortunately for everyone involved, Dimitri doesn't have a fear of needles. Or, if he _does_ , it's drowned out far more by his fascination by everything that's going on in the clinic they drop into. There's no issue with getting him an appointment, besides a bit of wait as there always is with walk-ins, and no one blinks an eye at the fact that he's simply out of country with no identification. The only _real_ issue is that he doesn't have an address to put down on the form... so Claude just puts his. It's not as though they have any other choice, and, hey, he's paying for everything anyway.  
  
Of course... He can't just send Dimitri in there on his own. So when the front desk clerk asks him his relation to the individual in question, Claude just smiles and says without batting an eye, "Boyfriends."  
  
Dimitri waits the entire subway ride to Claude's home, until they're within the apartment building he's decided to stay, before he brings it up. "Earlier, back there in the - clinic," he says, a little clunky with the unfamiliar term as they step forward towards the elevators. He casts a curious gaze into the rather featureless metal box, but still follows Claude without any question inside. "You said I was a boy friend. Why did that matter?"  
  
"Here, people really care about their privacy," Claude explains, ducking his head out of the elevator again just to make sure they'll _really_ be able to have a private conversation with no one else running in at the last second. With that settled, he hits the button to his floor. This isn't the first time they've run into automated doors since Dimitri has arrived here, even if only for less than twenty-four hours, but Dimitri still watches them almost warily, like a pet in a new environment. "If you tell something to a doctor, then it's law that they can't talk about it to anyone else besides you. For them to tell me anything, they need both a reason why I should be someone they can speak in front of so openly, and they need your consent above all else."  
  
"And so even friends can- ah!" Jumping like a skittish cat as the elevator jolts into movement, Dimitri presses his back against one corner. Yet it's a sign of how much Dimitri can recover from strange instances, or perhaps how quickly he's managed to adjust to this time period, that he pauses and narrows his eyes at Claude. "Is this... something that is similar to the subway?"  
  
Claude grins proudly. It's not as though he's known Dimitri for very long, or is really particularly close to him... But he's still pleased regardless that the guy is catching on so quickly. "That's right. However, the subway system is used for transportation all around the city. Elevators are used for going up or down, purely for a single building's use. They're helpful for people with disabilities, or carrying heavy items up to a different floor, or simply because you're tired. Still, they're not something that can be relied on fully, which is why all buildings still need to have stairwells that stop at every floor, like the building where we first met."  
  
"Does it use the same power as the subway? That... tidal power, I believe you called it?"  
  
"Tidal energy, that's right, and it does." He nods his head. "Or at least this building does. What kind of power is used depends on a lot of different places, and what they have available. Derdriu is in a good position to use tidal energy, considering how close we are to the ocean - as in, we're literally right here on the coast. Other places have a much bigger reliance on solar energy, while some harness the power of the wind."  
  
And that's only the tip of the iceberg on how many different forms of energy are being explored... But those are the most common variants that Claude knows of, and, honestly, talking about the rest will only overwhelm Dimitri. It's a lot simply to make him comfortable and understand the average day to day things, like the subway system or electricity. There's no real reason to go too deeply into anything else... unless, he guesses, Dimitri ends up taking an interest in it all.  
  
And that's certainly possible, considering the fascinated and thoughtful look that passes over the blond's face. It drags him deep into thought as the elevator finally comes to a stop, and Claude begins to guide him down the hall to his apartment. All that snaps him out of it is when Claude opens the front door and flicks on the light, holding it open for Dimitri, whose arms are still held up with the box he's carrying. Dimitri only takes one step inside before he pauses, staring with wide eyes. "Is this... really your abode?"  
  
Claude chuckles, shutting and locking the door behind them. "What, doesn't it seem like it fits me?" he asks, shucking out of his shoes and strolling on inside. He knows that's not what Dimitri is really stuck on, of course. Like always, he must be amazed by all the strange and new things that are before his eyes. Claude always thought that his apartment wasn't anything too extravagant, especially not compared to his siblings... but with the way Dimitri looks around, eye wide in wonder, he feels, momentarily, like some sort of king.  
  
The only really fantastic thing he can say about his apartment is that it's spacious; Claude can't stand the restrictive nature of little studio or bubble apartments where everything is shoved tightly into one room that leaves hardly any space to breathe. It was the one thing he really allowed himself to splurge on.  
  
For everything else, he's perfectly happy to just decorate it with small things... Although he supposes he has to admit it's a lot of small things: the various pieces of art along the walls that are just as colorful as the plants outside, various bits of crafts from Almyra and some from local art fairs in Derdriu, furniture that matches all of it...  
  
Out of his entire apartment, the one place that doesn't entirely match would be the kitchen, if only because he can't litter the walls with dozens of pieces or art, or shove too many crafts or statues onto the counters there. Instead, there are just the usual things a kitchen has: pans hanging along the wall for easy grabbing, a blender that he uses maybe more than he probably should, the toaster and the toaster oven and a microwave... Claude would never say he's a super active cook, but he likes having everything he can at his disposal when he does do cooking.  
  
....He supposes he really should do more of it, honestly. All his microwaveable and boxed foods aren't really that great, and he's sure his father would cry if he heard that Claude wasn't doing more cooking. One of the only things he was insistent on, when they were all kids...  
  
When he looks back, Dimitri is still lingering around the entrance, in clothes a good couple of sizes too big for him, his box of armor in his arms. Claude waves his hand at him. "You can just put that down wherever you like. Don't worry about taking up too much space. Honestly, I'm mostly worried about you starting to feel woozy..."  
  
"I still feel fine," Dimitri insists, but Claude shakes his head as he goes over to the living space - spacious and with plenty of room for pacing, exactly as he likes it.  
  
"I'm saying that because of how some people can react to getting their vaccinations," he tells Dimitri, even though honestly Dimitri getting sick is basically a _given_. Still, he wants to keep him in a calm state rather than panicking or anything. Everything will turn out fine, so a little white lie like this isn't a big deal. "I plan on getting some water, and maybe some light snacks ready for you, in case you start feeling bad. As for where you can stay..."  
  
Taking a glass from his cupboards, Claude surveys the living space again. "I have a spare room, since I do sometimes have friends who've stayed over in the past... But it's been a while since that's happened," he admits. When was the last time, anyway? It was something to do with Lorenz's last break up, he thinks... And Lorenz's last break up was a long time ago. As in, a couple of years ago. "Things have kind of piled up in there... So, uh, sorry about that! Is the couch fine by you?"  
  
Walking further into the living space, Dimitri finally puts the box of armor down on the other side of the couch, far away from the door or the spaces that lead to the rest of Claude's apartment. "Considering how suddenly I have come to impose upon you, it would be impolite of me to complain about frantic accommodations," Dimitri says, looking down at the couch. "Besides... It's a rather large one, isn't it? The largest couch I believe I have ever seen."  
  
That has Claude grin. "Well, one of the guys who uses it is the same guy whose clothes I borrowed for you, so it has to be if I want him to be comfortable!" That reminds him, that's something else he's going to have to handle if Dimitri is going to stay with him... "Let me get you a glass of water, and some pillows so that we can settle in for the night. You're probably exhausted, after everything that's happened today."  
  
Claude would like to say that is how he'd feel: exhausted and confused and maybe a host of other emotions as well, a lot of them negative. However, he kind of knows... that's not how he'd feel at all. Something incredible, something no one else had ever seen before, so much new information stretching out before his eyes and at his very fingertips - how could he stay still and completely miserable with that?  
  
Maybe Dimitri feels a similar way... or maybe he's feeling homesick. Whatever it is that he's experiencing, he's not just seated on the couch out of his skull when Claude returns with a pile of blankets. Instead, he's standing along the enormous window that opens out to a view of the entire city. Like any big city, Derdriu really glitters at night... It's just the kind of thing that can't be avoided, with how many jobs require life to thrive even in the dead of night. Yet with how high up Claude's apartment is, and with how the world seems to stretch out for an eternity in the darkness...  
  
"It is as though the heavens were brought down onto earth," Dimitri murmurs as Claude dumps the blankets onto the couch. "I've looked out to towns and villages many times before, and yet they're rarely so brilliant and lively. The only occasions are when there are festivals... and even those look nothing like this." That's around the time Claude steps up to join him at the window, and Dimitri looks at him. "They still use the power of the sun when the sun has long vanished from the sky?"  
  
Claude chuckles. "Well, we're able to store that energy in various ways, and keep it contained... So that it still sticks around even when the sun sets." Crossing his arms, he leans against the window. "Although there's been a lot of arguments about how to deal with the things we use to contain them, when those things have become too burned out, so to speak. The batteries that hold the sun... It's something that someone in my family is looking into, actually."  
  
"Is that so? Is it important that you find a way to deal with the old containers?"  
  
"Yeah." Claude nods, still looking out towards the city view that he's admired so many times before. He can still remember the first night he moved into his apartment, when almost all of his stuff was still boxed up, and he had just the plain mattress on the floor... "If we don't figure out something to do with them soon, then they'll start to add up. I imagine it must be pretty obvious by now, but cities have really become pretty large since your time. We have way too many people to just ignore things piling up..."  
  
When he looks at Dimitri again, the blond is smiling slightly at him, even though Claude can't imagine he's done or said anything particularly special. At least Dimitri doesn't keep him in suspense for very long. "When you speak of things in that manner... It makes you sound rather like the ruler of a kingdom, thinking of his people." Claude snorts; "ruler" isn't really the word he would have gone with, honestly. "Your family must be incredibly generous."  
  
Now he _definitely_ wouldn't have said that in regards to his family, especially with the current situation. Claude is already shaking his head before Dimitri has finished saying that last word. "Let's just say that my siblings are doing the things that they're doing for less than altruistic reasons," he says, before he suddenly laughs. "Although I guess I'm on the same wyvern, when it comes to that! You really shouldn't believe the best in people before you know everything, Dimitri."  
  
Dimitri frowns, but doesn't bother to argue with him. Claude may have only gotten to know him for around half a day, and yet he still doesn't take that to mean the other man is just letting him have this argument. What's the basis for this opinion? Well... For now, he'll simply call it gut instinct. For now, Dimitri looks back out onto the city. "Regardless," he murmurs. "This is a beautiful city."  
  
On that, at least, they can both agree.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Sure enough, Dimitri gets sick overnight. Claude gets to discover this delightful fact when he wobbles forward early in the morning and finds the man struggling to fold his blankets into a neat square, face flushed from that strong jaw to the tips of his ears. If Claude is less surprised about anything else than the fact that Dimitri got sick, it's that Dimitri is still stubbornly trying to forge onwards. What is it about the correlation between strong jaws and strong wills, anyway?  
  
"Okay, so that's a terrible idea," he announces, moving on over to Dimitri so that he can grab him by the shoulders. "Dimitri, you're obviously sick as a dog, so just... lay back down.... and... recover..."  
  
So.  
  
As it turns out.  
  
Dimitri's jaw and will aren't the only things that are strong about him.  
  
The man just _does not budge_ when Claude tugs at his shoulders, and continues to not move a single solitary god damn inch when Claude digs his feet against the rug in order to _really_ push and pull at him. In fact, he just keeps clumsily trying to fold the blanket, as though Claude isn't even there at all. "What did your parents feed you," Claude grumbles, digging his feet in some more before he gives up and just slumps against Dimitri's side. Chalk this up as yet another mark on the list of things he could never have expected. "Dimitri, do you even know that I'm here?"  
  
"I know," Dimitri says, after a few more seconds longer than one really needs to respond to another person. Claude has done it on purpose a few times, just to mess with people, or impart a particular impression. Dimitri just genuinely seems to need those few seconds for the extra processing time. "But... I have to have _manners_. I am staying... in your home... so I can't just be - _bad_."  
  
Well, there go his carefully crafted words from before. The sickness must be really doing a number on his head. "That's nice and all, but you know what would be even more rude? Fainting from overexertion and falling backwards onto my coffee table so that you get a head injury," Claude grouses.  
  
All it's really meant to be is just a bit of whining and complaining; Claude is proud of his silver tongue and knows he can do a lot better than _that_. And yet it seems to get through to Dimitri, making the man pause in his latest bad attempt at folding the blanket. "I don't want to be _rude_ ," Dimitri whispers, sounding almost horrified at the idea. "I don't- I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Claude."  
  
This isn't the solution he was aiming for, or that he thought would work, but Claude isn't just going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "It's okay, I forgive you," he says, a little more awake thanks to the past few minutes of trying to make Dimitri move at all. Maybe now that won't be such a problem. "But you should lay down so that you're not rude, alright?"  
  
It's like a magic word... or maybe Dimitri just doesn't have it in him to argue anymore after so many failed attempts at folding his own blanket. He practically collapses back onto the couch, eyelids fluttering. "I'm sorry for being rude," he mumbles again as Claude tugs the blanket over him again. "I did not want to be a burden. You must have so much you need to do..."  
  
"Listen, don't worry about it," Claude says, a little more purposeful now in what he's saying, and how he's saying it - a gentle tone, soft and reassuring. "You'll be good and polite now, won't you? Besides, I've taken the day off. I'm allowed to have some time for myself. My friends have been telling me to do it for ages now anyway."  
  
Dimitri blinks sluggishly up at him; he never removed his eyepatch last night and it's slid from its position on his face. Claude thinks he can see hints of scar tissue peeking out from underneath the black material. "It's okay?" he murmurs, confused.  
  
"It's okay," Claude confirms, settling on the armrest of the couch. It's really a good thing he got such a big one... Dimitri is a tall guy. He barely fits as it is. "I can work from here anyway. You must be pretty hungry, huh? Hey-" Dimitri is already sort of shaking his head, although not with any particular energy. "Don't be like that, now. You won't get better if you don't eat. I should probably have some canned food that's good for when you're feeling sick..."  
  
To Claude's vast relief, he does in fact have some chicken noodle soup tucked away in his pantry, although he can't entirely recall how it got there. Was it a Raphael thing? It feels like a Raphael thing. More than anything else, he's grateful that there was a Raphael thing waiting for him in his pantry, and Claude quickly sets up the soup. It hardly takes any time at all.  
  
A much greater challenge is getting Dimitri to sit up on the couch, still wrapped up tight in a blanket. Honestly, it's almost kind of funny. Claude almost feels like he's taking care of a little kid as he coaxes Dimitri into a state of being upright, and encourages him to take a couple of bites of soup just to satisfy his body. He doesn't even have an active _love life_ right now, he reflects in amusement.  
  
"Hey, I'll turn on the television," he tells Dimitri once he's satisfied with how much the poor guy has eaten. It can't be the whole bowl, not yet, but even a little is fine... probably. When's the last time _he_ cared for anyone like this anyway? He was always the youngest of his family... and most of his siblings didn't bother to do this that he can remember. "It'll be a good way to pass the time. Just, hm... Remember that not all of it might be _necessarily_ true. Some are just fiction, for people to enjoy."  
  
Dimitri nods and mumbles an affirmative, but Claude isn't really certain he's heard him. Well, that's fine. They can clear things up next morning. Putting the soup away to be reheated in no doubt an hour or two, Claude flicks on the television. There's honestly a _lot_ to choose from, although Claude has to admit that he doesn't watch a good half of it.  
  
He flicks through the television guide, thinking about what would be best, exactly, for some sort of knight from the past... Eventually, he settles on one of the nature documentary variety. That should probably be pretty easy for Dimitri to absorb, with the least amount of confusion.  
  
Does he enjoy it? Claude has no idea. But he seems content enough as he lays there on the couch, fever having him drift in and out of sleep whenever Claude glances over as he buzzes about his apartment. That's good; it means he's guaranteed rest either way, and maybe something that he'll have an interest in when he's awake. Claude knows that he can't stand it himself when he's forced to lay around, and there's nothing to occupy his attention...  
  
While Dimitri fades in and out of consciousness and a program about Harpy Eagles (not actual harpies - Claude is kind of disappointed), Claude sets himself up on one of the actual spare chairs with his laptop balanced on his knees. If Hilda saw him, she'd no doubt sigh dramatically about him working some more on one of his days off... But it's not the kind of work she's thinking about. Hell, it's not the kind of work he'd usually do, to be fair.  
  
Most of Claude's work doesn't involve him looking over at a handsome man passed out on his couch (aw, he's going to miss the one about secretary birds) and deciding what kind of clothes would look best on him, or what his clothing size is.  
  
As Claude idly flicks through a clothing site, same day delivery guaranteed, his gaze idly travels away from the screen and towards the box that's still resting on the side of the couch that's near to him. When he'd arrived, there in the greenhouse... Dimitri had been wearing nothing but that painfully black armor, with only a dash of blue ornamentation upon his chest. He hadn't looked bad in black, Claude has to say - it's one of those colors that looks good on a lot of people. And yet... Somehow, it feels a little bit too heavy for those broad shoulders.  
  
Blue, however? Blue like that pretty blue eye of his? The color he'd worn over his shoulders, like cloth alone could shield him from whatever terrors and violence he'd been facing back in his original time? Yeah... Maybe it's just the fairytale vibe that Dimitri gives off, even with his eyepatch, but blue really does seem to be a color that suits him well. Claude orders him a couple of jeans and shirts in that color, because there's no point in tossing aside perfectly obvious and nice information like that. But it would be a shame to limit him to just one color...  
  
By the time Dimitri wakes up a little more coherently and without the expression of a man dying from the inside out, it's already around noon, and Claude is happily doing his _actual_ job on his laptop while steadily ignoring the blinking IM message from Lorenz. "Hey, you're looking better already," Claude says, while Dimitri blinks owlishly at him. "Think you're up for a little more chicken soup?"  
  
Taking a second and stock of himself, Dimitri nods after one hesitant moment. "I... think I would appreciate that," he says, back to that careful way of speaking from before. It's almost a pity, honestly. Now that he doesn't have to actively rail against it, Claude has to admit in hindsight that it was almost kind of endearing. Certainly it was funny. "Is it truly alright for you to be here, Claude?"  
  
"You really do fuss about what I should and shouldn't be doing." Setting his laptop to the side, Claude gets up and stretches his back out. "I told you before, but I guess the fever didn't really let it stick. Still, I'll be fine." He smiles down at Dimitri. "I have really reliable people working with me, you know."  
  
Dimitri blinks at that answer, and rolls his head along the back of the couch so that he can follow Claude's movement back into the kitchen. "They won't suffer from too much work when you are not there...? But you've been gone from them for so long..."  
  
"I haven't been gone for that long," Claude chuckles, pulling the soup bowl out from the fridge. "Where did that come from?"  
  
"You were there in that greenhouse when we first met..."  
  
Ah yes, of course. Claude may not have been caught by _Dimitri_ lounging about on the bench, but he supposes it still didn't really look like work, just being in there at all... Claude shakes his head, an amused smile playing on his lips.  
  
"Whether you believe it or not, what I was doing was taking a break because certain people I know insisted that I needed to have one. I thought the greenhouse would be the perfect space for it." Clicking the microwave into action, Claude turns around to lean against the counter. "I've only really been gone for maybe a full day at this point, and I'm probably off by a few hours. I haven't built a company that will fall down around everyone's ears if I'm gone for a day or three."  
  
Dimitri doesn't ask any other questions after that, lost in his own thoughts. That works out for Claude. What works out even better is that Dimitri is able to accept the bowl of soup from him, and feed himself bit by bit. "I did not realize I would feel this ill," he murmurs, blowing on his soup to cool it a bit before he takes a bite. "I can't remember getting a feber this bad for a long time."  
  
Biting back a smile at the slight mispronunciation, Claude doesn't draw any attention to it. Better to just... tuck that little tidbit away for another time. Dimitri has seemed pretty stiff so far, so he really needs to get a good feel for when he can tease him for maximum- he means, when he can tease Dimitri and it's not such a big deal. Of course.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Claude says, sinking back down into his chair. With how much of his morning he's spent in it, he's pretty glad that he picked a comfortable one way back when he first moved to Derdriu. "A lot of people are the same."  
  
"You said that before..." Good, his memory is still in functioning order. Claude watches as his attention drifts back to the television. They've finally moved on from what Claude can only assume was a bird marathon for the morning, and it's now doing a focus on lizards of Brigid. "What did you have to do, to get the-" Forgetting the word, Dimitri nods his head up towards the television.  
  
Claude hums. "Mostly I just paid upfront for it," he says simply. "A lot of things that were likely expensive in your time have become a lot more common place now. Things like books, and foods from far off places... The world has livened up and changed a good deal from what you're used to, I imagine."  
  
"Have people changed as well?"  
  
From all the history books that Claude has ever read, he knows that the times which preceded the war were tense times. The Adrestian Empire seemed to be constantly testing its limits in various little ways detailed through letters exchanged through nobles and merchants, or laws that had been preserved during that time period. Even diary entries. The Leicester Alliance seemed to be holding itself back carefully, or at least so people thought, while its nobility and rich merchants bickered on what plan of action to take or who to stand behind. That had left just the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, left in a position that had seemed disadvantageous at the time, and with by far the least amount of power behind it...  
  
Claude thinks of his many siblings, all snapping and bickering with each other in their adulthood, and yet quick to whirl on anything they find to be the weakest link. He thinks of the spies he's had to keep an eye out for in Golden Deer, and his father's annoying insistence on staying out of sibling "bickering", no matter how serious it's come close to being. He thinks of the numerous other companies that are all watching for even the slightest hint of weakness, who would steal some of their resources and not treat them nearly half as well...  
  
"If I had to say," Claude murmurs mildly, watching a lizard flick through foliage to safety on the television screen, "people probably haven't changed as much as I would like."  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
It takes the rest of the day for Dimitri to recover, with a lot of it spent sleeping again once he finishes the chicken soup, but he seems right as rain when the next morning comes around. Instead of cocooned on the couch, Claude finds him leaning back against the window when he wakes up in the morning, watching with wide eyes. Claude doesn't make too much noise but he doesn't hide his presence either. He just comes over and smiles when he sees what has Dimitri's attention. "Oh yeah, lots of wyvern riders come out around this time."  
  
"I've only ever seen them from the ground," Dimitri says, which was essentially a given. "Yet it feels like something else entirely to watch them from up here... I had wondered why the buildings were built so far apart from one another."  
  
Claude laughs a little at that, and watches as a wyvern with quite the heavy load on their saddle slowly starts to glide down to one of the buildings with a large landing pad incorporated into its infrastructure. "Yeah... It's actually a really interesting progression, if you like reading up on history. Did you ride wyverns back during the time you're from?"  
  
He hasn't even finished his sentence before Dimitri is shaking his head. "I preferred horses when I had to ride," Dimitri explains, and only jolts slightly when the windows rattle as another wyvern passes by. It's not as hard as some encounters could be, but the wind gusts from their wings is no joke. When everything settles and the wyvern has long passed them, he relaxes again. "Does that always happen?"  
  
With another laugh, Claude turns away from the windows. "Yup! The price of having such a spectacular view. You have foot and car traffic down on some of the lower levels, and then, midway up, there's the pegasi traffic so that it doesn't compete with wyvern traffic that genuinely goes much higher. I guess no one ever had to worry about that in your time, huh?"  
  
Now that he's apparently feeling good as ever, Dimitri doesn't just sit around and wait for Claude. Instead, he trails after him like a new puppy. "Everyone was always arriving in the same place," he says, confirming what Claude knows of historical places which still show how the wyvern and pegasi stables were separated, in places that had them both, but a shared landing area. "Everyone always knew that it was the wyvern riders' fault if their steeds got harassed by pegasi."  
  
Snorting, Claude tugs open his fridge. "You'll be glad to know that some breeds have been bred into being a lot more calm than the ones of the past," he tells Dimitri, not having to raise his voice very much considering how the blond is almost right behind him. "Anyway, got an idea of what you'd like to have for breakfast?" He might as well ask, considering Dimitri is doing his Very Absolute Best to be as behind him as he can be without being _Behind_ him.  
  
Even without looking, he can tell that Dimitri jolts in surprise at being called out in even the slightest, and he tries to step back. There's not much room for that, unfortunately for him, so it's just the two of them crammed in the narrow space inbetween the counter and the kitchen island. "Oh," Dimitri says, blinking. "I... Well, I'm afraid I'm not sure what is really acceptable for breakfast here..." In the unspoken lines beneath his words, the implication of _here_ is both a _where_ and a _when_.  
  
"Just toss out foods that you like," Claude says, eyeing up his fridge. Was it always this low? He might have to do some shopping... "I'll see what I can do."  
  
"Well, at their most simplest..." One of Dimitri's hands fidgets at his side, almost starting to rise before he forces it down again. "I like meat, and I do like cheese as well." There's a sort of hesitance to that second addition, as though he's not sure if he should ask for it or not.  
  
Funnily enough, cheese _is_ one of those things he has, not because he tends to eat it very much on his own, but because he knows that he had Marianne and Leonie over not that long ago, where the three of them had some comfort food because of a minor hiccup in their plans for the day which had left them all doing overtime. And, well, nothing says comfort food sometimes quite like tomato soup and grilled cheese...  
  
At least, it's an incredibly easy comfort food to make, and Claude can appreciate the virtues of lazy dining.  
  
Dimitri is, at least, not an obtrusive presence in the kitchen. The second Claude starts laying out food and fetching his pans from the wall, the blond backs up a bit. "It's interesting that even kitchens have changed after all these years," he says, watching with fascination as Claude starts turning on the electric stove. "I never would have thought they could change like this... Although, perhaps not changed as much as perhaps they could."  
  
"Well, food still needs to be cooked, and baked, and cut up," Claude laughs, checking out how good his eggs are. "I guess there's not much fiddling with the base concept, huh?"  
  
"I see..." That's all Dimitri needs to circle around the kitchen island, where he watches Claude a little better. Claude can't imagine there's much to watch, honestly. The process of making omelettes and frying bacon can't be particularly fascinating, although the inclusion of cheese might be a whole new thing... but hey. Whatever makes him happy.  
  
Still, the silence is starting to bug Claude again, so he says over his shoulder, "Hey, would you mind turning on the television again? We can change from what we watched yesterday. Just look for the black rectangular box looking thing on the table in front of the couch - that's the remote control."  
  
If there's one thing that Claude has learned about Dimitri, it's that the man is just not capable of being quiet. It's not even the kind of thing that can be blamed on him having plate armor in his possession. Dimitri is just... too tall and weighty a guy, the kind of person who has all of his weight put into muscle mass. Claude doesn't even have to look and watch him to listen to his footsteps maneuvering away from the kitchen island to the living space. "Oh! It is the birds again."  
  
Sure enough, Claude can hear the same excited energy of the narrator going into detail about the kindness capabilities that corvids possess - the kind of lowkey passion which hints that the person speaking thinks birds honestly have a lot more good qualities to them than other human beings do. They did the narration for a lot of the other bird focused shows just the other morning as well.  
  
"Did we stumble onto a themed week or something?" he mutters to himself in amusement, trying to incorporate the cheese perfectly, before he raises his voice. "Alright, on the remote, there should be a pair of letters? CH? If you press the top or bottom of that, the images on the television will change."  
  
Very Excited Avian Narrator's voice suddenly disappears, replaced by dramatic music and the sound of cooking louder than his own. Taking the pan off of the stovetop for a moment, Claude goes to get a couple of plates even as he glances back to Dimitri. How could he not? There's no way he would ever miss that wide eyed look of wonder at the simple act of changing the television channel.  
  
"You can keep changing the channel until you find something you like," he informs Dimitri, setting the plates down and moving the first cheese omelette into place. "I have a lot to choose from."  
  
"But it's _all_ fascinating!" Dimitri exclaims, eyes still glued to the cooking competition happening right before his eyes. Personally, Claude never cared for that kind of thing, or at least not these particular kinds of cooking competitions. Too much grandstanding, too much hoity toity bullshit. Still, Dimitri is happy, and Claude doesn't care _that_ much. "And there's even more than this?"  
  
The bacon is coming along perfectly, Claude is delighted to say, and is just the perfect level between chewy and crunchy. "Yup," he says casually, letting them rest on some paper napkins so that the oil can be dealt with just as perfectly. "Basically.... consider the variety as wide as books. The channel we were just on? The one with all the birds, and that you may or may not remember watching yesterday?"  
  
"Is that why I kept dreaming about birds...?" Dimitri mumbles, over the sounds of the judges' decisions on the dishes.  
  
Claude continues. "Channels like those are meant to be educational, and as close to truthful as they can be, generally speaking. Then you have your stuff that are basically plays - stuff made for entertainment and drama that doesn't affect your life at all. Some of those are obvious, and some of them aren't, and some are sort of a mix between the two."  
  
"A mix? What is that like-?" But then the show suddenly hits its commercial break, and Dimitri jolts a little bit at the abruptness of it all, and how a very noisy and exaggerated voice is telling him to go order the spiciest pizza in all of Fodlan. Calming down, he looks immediately over at Claude and doesn't say another word. All he does is raise his eyebrows pointedly.  
  
Taking a choked breath so that he doesn't burst out laughing, Claude hastily returns to the construction of another omelette. "And then there are the commercials," he says, grinning widely down at the frying pan. "They only last a moment, and there's a bunch of them shoved into the breaks between parts of whatever is playing on the television, even if it's news. Those you should definitely ignore - or, you know, take that as an opportunity to use the bathroom." They definitely had to have that fun experience the other day, although Dimitri seemed to manage well enough on his own... Claude wonders if the haze of the fever made it difficult for him to be surprised by indoor plumbing.  
  
He thinks he can hear a quiet huff from Dimitri, but then there's the sound of the current commercial being abruptly cut off, and the sound of some sort of courtroom drama going instead. "That one's a fictional one," he says over his shoulder, just in case Dimitri can't tell.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Oh, it's just a lot of little things that have added up over time." Claude shrugs, plating the second omelette as well. The bacon looks like it's managed to do well, too. "It's one of those things. But for you, looking directly at it right now... Hm. I guess if you pay attention to the way it's presented in contrast to things like news channels, or those nature documentaries, you'll catch on quickly enough. Anyway, if you want to leave it on that one, you can. Breakfast is ready."  
  
Dimitri doesn't leave it on the courtroom drama, fortunately. Instead, hastily, still so conscientious of himself, he frantically flicks through the channels until he randomly stops on one going through the details of famous celebrities. It doesn't really seem planned so much as forced, with Dimitri carefully putting the remote back down where he found it before he trots over.  
  
"By the way," he says, once Dimitri has gingerly picked up a fork to begin eating. "I got you some clothes yesterday while you were sick. They should be arriving today, so you can change out of Raphael's old clothing. After that, well... We can figure out what else to do with you."  
  
Talk of business is enough to bring about an entirely different part of Dimitri. Immediately, he straightens up, and a more serious and regal expression settles across his face. "Of course," he says. "I will do my best to do whatever task you require of me. I still do not understand my purpose for being here, but I can only assume it was to help you in whatever way you need."  
  
Slicing through his own omelette, Claude hums thoughtfully. "Honestly, while that's nice and all, I can't be entirely sure that there _is_ a point for you being here," he says. "Judging by what I was told just shortly before you were dropped right in front of me, I feel like it was just an accident." Which... jeez. What kind of thing to hear, to go through such a lifechanging and once in a millennia event, only to be told it didn't even have the decency to be on _purpose_.  
  
Dimitri's shoulders don't lose a bit of their regalness, however. He merely nods. "Then that is all the more reason for me to work so that my debt to you can be repaid," he says.  
  
"I'd _really_ prefer not to think of it as a debt," Claude says hastily, pointing his fork at Dimitri. "I mean, why should I take a debt from some guy who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Of course, he'll take advantage of anything he can get, sure... But he doesn't want to take advantage of another innocent person. If he can avoid that kind of thing, he'd prefer to. Besides... "Anyway, you know, for a curious guy like me, just having you around to talk to is payback enough." He takes another bite of his omelette, grinning. "There aren't a lot of people who can say they've spoken to a person from the past. Even if I can't exactly put it in an academic paper or anything, it'd be satisfying for me alone to know."  
  
Of course, depending on what he manages to get out from Dimitri, that could possibly give him a hint on how to find something that the academic community would accept without the truth of time travel behind it... Well, that's something for him to figure out for the future. There's no need to rush it.  
  
"I see... I'm not sure if that is something that can satisfy me, but if that is what you wish." Letting out a long, slow exhale, Dimitri returns his attention to his so-far untouched breakfast. "You know... I have to admit that I am quite envious of you, Claude. You have adapted to this so quickly... Yet I am afraid that I feel rather without purpose or any idea of what I am to do."  
  
"Don't worry about it." Claude chuckles. "For me... This isn't nearly as big a change, honestly. So... I suppose the impact hasn't really hit me yet, or as hard. Anyway, your breakfast is going to get cold."  
  
That answer doesn't really seem to satisfy Dimitri a great deal... but he still finally slices through his omelette and takes a bite. It's nothing particularly fancy, or impressive, but the way his face lights up? It's enough to make Claude grin, and finish off his own breakfast.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
The rest of that day is spent cleaning out Claude's spare room so that the bed can actually function as a bed in there instead of just a place where he keeps stacking book upon book. It's not like Claude really has a lot of _other_ places to put those books, granted... but he figures that, for the time being, scattered all about his room in random piles is perfectly fine. Hey, they can join the piles and stacks that are already there.  
  
Sometime in the afternoon, too, he gets a call up to his apartment that he's gotten a few large packages waiting for him, and that would be Dimitri's clothes. Claude has Dimitri test just a couple of them, try them on, just to make sure his guesses were right in terms of size. Most of them are, and the ones that are just a little off for Dimitri are ones Claude hoards for himself just because he can. There's no point in putting perfectly fine clothes to waste.  
  
Honestly... It feels like the most mundane and relaxed day he's had in a while, despite the fact that so much of it is technically work, and work to take care of a time-displaced warrior in black armor. Yet Claude doesn't mind it, enjoying himself as he judges the clothes Dimitri wears, and explains different foods as he cooks them for dinner that night. Maybe it's just because he's ultimately such a people person, that it doesn't feel like work at all. It's simply... putting his apartment into order.  
  
Even if he enjoys it, however, and even if he trusts the entirety of his Golden Deer to carry things on perfectly in his absence, Claude knows he can't leave them alone completely or for a long time. The whole case of a time displayed man might be kind of a big deal, but Claude refuses to put his life on hold for just one person. So, on the third day after Dimitri arrives, Claude goes back to work.  
  
He's not a jackass or anything, obviously. He makes sure that Dimitri knows what things he Absolutely Should Never Touch, gets a promise that Dimitri won't go into his room, and makes sure he knows how to use the television. It's a little bit restrictive, but, well... He only has so much time to teach Dimitri everything, even if this method sort of feels like letting a kid be home alone for the first time.  
  
At least he's fortunate in one respect, and it's that Dimitri is a lot more responsible than just any kid, or even some teenagers. Claude doesn't really worry about it, and simply focuses on getting back to Golden Deer, and Project Verdant Wind.  
  
Of course, it can't be just that easy. The second he comes back, a small gathering of his friends is huddled in front of his office, whispering to each other. Claude doesn't go interrupt them right away, instead making an _abrupt_ detour into some of the other offices until he steps into the nice open space that is Raphael and Ignatz's shared place. There, he gives a jaunty little salute. "Hey Raph! Thanks again for letting me borrow your clothes."  
  
Looking up from where he's squinting at the computer, Raphael beams. "Claude!" he says cheerfully. Thankfully, all those times reminding him to use his Inside Voice have worked, or else Claude knows for a fact that every single person on the floor would have known of his arrival. "Welcome back, buddy! Have a good break!"  
  
"Jeez, you all make me sound like a workaholic," Claude notes, grinning as he comes to hop onto the edge of Ignatz's desk. His friend is still out, last he checked, so it should be fine if he sits along the edge of it. "I was only gone for a few days, you know. That's hardly enough for some grand vacation. Anyway, enough about me. How's everyone else doing? It looked like they were in the middle of a big conversation when I walked in."  
  
Raphael taps his jaw a couple of times, thinking about it. "Oh, that?" he says, leaning against a bookshelf. "I guess everyone is just curious about where you've been these last few days. Lysithea is _sure_ that you would have been putting things into the shared drive online. Lorenz thinks you were doing something in secret, to add to the project later so that no one would yell at you... Stuff like that." Grinning widely, Raphael folds his hands behind his head. "Honestly, it's goin' all over me! If you had a good time, that's all I care about."  
  
Word by word, Claude's smile softens, and he tilts his head down with a chuckle. "Thanks for being a sweetheart, Raphael. You don't have to worry. It's definitely been a nice one." Confusing, and bewildering, and work all its own... but Claude doesn't mind that. It's a change of pace, and maybe he needed that before Verdant Wind could be pushed forward.  
  
Claude sticks around for a little while long, just chatting with Raphael to get an idea of how Ignatz has been doing and the error message Raphael had gotten on his computer, which Claude fixes instantly, before he finally heads out. If he's honest, he probably could have shown up to his office _far_ earlier... but this way, he can leave all his other friends guessing.  
  
In particular, he has a certain friend he'd love to keep reeling even after all this time, and Claude has to fight not to make his grin grow too wide as he comes down the hall to the sight of Lorenz whirling about. As always, the man's hair and style is impeccable and outstanding - as in, it never fails to stand out in comparison to every one else around him. That's just what happens when one is heavy into the leather scene, and incorporates it into even their work fashion... Claude can't say he complains about it, honestly. Not with the way those pants hug Lorenz's legs, or the detailing in his leather waistcoat.  
  
"I shall not engage in any of your games this morning, Claude," Lorenz announces as he meets Claude halfway down the hallway. Behind him, Hilda is peering over his shoulder with the clear spark of someone who's eager for gossip and information. Claude knows it's popped up on _his_ face at least a good couple of times. "Please tell us exactly what it is that you did while you have been gone these past few days, and where on earth you put all the work you did."  
  
"Who said I did any work?" Claude says with a sly smile, knowing it make himself look even more untrustworthy even though he's absolutely telling the truth. "I was told that everyone was worried about me not taking a break, and possibly overworking myself... So I went home and did just that. I relaxed and took a much needed break for myself. I bought clothes, and actually cooked proper for the first time in a while..."  
  
Lorenz huffs, already absolutely offended. Claude kind of loves it when Lorenz gets offended, especially nowadays considering Lorenz works with him instead of for his Father's company. No one has told Gloucester Senior this yet, of course, but hey... As long as Claude gets to enjoy that Very Particular Way in which Lorenz flares out his nostrils and crosses his arms. Sometimes it looks as though he's going to ask for Claude's manager. " _You_ do not cook," he says.  
  
"I cook sometimes!" Claude protests. Now it's not even a matter of teasing his friend; this has personal honor stakes in it. "Lysithea, I even baked for you once!"  
  
With their arms crossed - Claude thinks it's a girl day for her but he's not 100% sure, preoccupied by these Slanderous Accusations (tm) as he is - Lysithea raises an eyebrow. "You baked a funfetti cake," Lysithea says, trying not to fume too greatly. "And you put sprinkles on top of it." In other words, it was the most kid cake he could think of, outside of preordering Lysithea one from an ice cream store that was in the shape of a whale.  
  
Claude starts to grin again just remember that time. "And yet you ate a good half of it," he says in satisfaction, ignoring the way Lorenz pinches the bridge of his nose. "And then a slice of the chocolate raspberry cake that I also brought, to make up for the funfetti cake."  
  
"Ignoring _all of that_ ," Lorenz says, doing his absolute best to be patient and not tear his hair out, "Why on earth would you _cook_?"  
  
"To eat warm food," Claude says innocently. Hilda covers her mouth with her hand, doing an incredibly admirable job of covering up what Claude is certain is more laughter.  
  
Lorenz looks as though he's regretting his current employment situation. "Don't you usually heat things up?" he asks. "Because you are far too busy to do anything but that."  
  
"I do," Claude admits, because not even he would say that the sky is anything but blue. "But I thought it would be a good opportunity to brush up on my cooking skills again. I might get disowned if I don't, you know." With that, he finally moves past Lorenz, winking at him and Lysithea. "Besides, cooked food is worth the effort with good company~."  
  
Lorenz's sputtering is audible all the way up until he opens his office door and disappears inside, whereupon he finally laughs softly to himself. "So easy to mess with," he hums to himself, going over to his desk and starting up his computer. He knows for a fact that Leonie and Ignatz have to have made some decent progress by now, so now he really needs to catch up as well...  
  
He doesn't get a lot of time to work however. After maybe around fifteen minutes, the door to his office opens, and Hilda swans on in. "So what do you think?" she asks cheerfully, coming to lean against the back of his chair.  
  
"You know I've only just gotten onto my computer, right?"  
  
"Yeah, but I know you." Hilda grins at him. "You've absolutely already read through all of your work emails. Or are you going to tell me I'm wrong?"  
  
Well, that's Hilda for you. She knows so many of his little quirks, although Claude has been careful not to show off _everything_ about himself. Shrugging, he skips over an email from his mother and opens the one from Ignatz again. "It looks like there are a few different sites that they've gone over now. There's one that we could take over for cheap, but it needs a lot of fixing up, and I think I would have to go with Leonie's assessment that it would be the kind of place that could easily surprise us with unfortunate expenses. Most of the others seem kind of middling for the time being, so I'll have to think a bit more on them..."  
  
"And the really big ones are soooo expensive, despite being abandoned in the first place," Hilda says with a long sigh. "What a pain... So!" She leans forward, her shoulders against Claude's shoulders and her hands folding over his head. "Did you pick up a stray cat or something?"  
  
That draws out a soft laugh from Claude, and he continues to check in on various updates to the many projects that Golden Deer is involved in. "Now what made you say that?"  
  
"Well, you were obviously jerking Lorenz's chain around, outside," Hilda muses. "I doubt you _actually_ had anyone over your place the last few days... You don't really date anymore since you've started up the Golden Deer and, honestly, you never have _time_. Since when would you have found time to date someone cute? Oh, sorry." Moving her hands off of his head, Hilda presses her fingertips delicately to her lips. "Someone intimidatingly handsome who could pin you up against a wall."  
  
Shit - this is exactly why he can never get any work done with Hilda around. Claude bursts out laughing, slumping over his desk while tears of mirth start to fall from his eyes. "Did you come in here just to roast me?" he asks, voice shaking with laughter. "You could at least wait until lunch, jeez!"  
  
Hilda only grins at him, her eyes sparkling. "You've been gone for so long, I thought I would make you feel right at home again as soon as possible," she teases. Unlike Raphael, Claude knows she's _definitely_ jerking him around. It's nice - makes him glad to come back to all of his friends' fussing and teasing.  
  
"Terrible," he announces once he's recovered enough, not even bothering to hide his own smile. "Anyway, I actually _did_ pick up a stray. One with beautiful golden hair, and a sweet but clumsy disposition..."  
  
Laughing, Hilda taps his shoulder as she passes him by. "Oh, stop that!" she says. "If you're going to trick Lorenz into dating your cat, test it on him, not me!" And just like that, she's out the door again. Well, despite all her bemoaning, Hilda really does have work she needs to do too... And she's always so good about completing it. Claude smiles at the closed door she disappeared through, before he returns to his computer. With a couple of clicks, he draws up the instant messaging system for Golden Deer, and opens up his chat with Marianne again.  
  
After all, it looks like he's going to need to get off work a little early tomorrow so that he can go grocery shopping for this stray cat of his.  
  
Besides that little bit of fun in the morning, nothing particularly exciting happens throughout his workday. It's the same old, same old, with not even the problems being anything particularly surprising or strange. Then again... It's not as though Claude can tell if that's something born from simple experience and mundane routine, or because, literally only a few days ago, he had a displaced medieval knight drop out of the greenhouse ceiling after he was visited by who he's pretty sure is a saint. Or a minor deity. Historians disagree.  
  
And yet, if there is any change to his routine, it is that his thoughts constantly stray back to his apartment, and Dimitri's new existence in it. He doesn't make an active effort to think about the guy. It's just, he pops up occasionally in Claude's thoughts, even when he's preoccupied with other things. As he's fixing a printer jam, he wonders if Dimitri is managing to use the television without any issue. Lunch time has him think if Dimitri remembered that he could make a cold sandwich with some of the foods in Claude's fridge. Just various little things like that, nipping at his heels all day.  
  
It's kind of funny, honestly. For so long, he can't really recall a period of time when he was excited to return to his apartment like this. There was a while where he was excited because it was a place separate from the rest of his family, where he could relax and be himself and not have to worry about all the relationship juggling between his siblings... And there have been times when he's looked forward to something happening at his home, like watching movies with Marianne and Raphael. But... Claude is pretty sure he hasn't been eager to just sit in his home and relax quite like now.  
  
Claude chuckles to himself as he takes the subway back to his part of town, and shakes his head. Funny how little things change when a guy time travels into his life.  
  
Despite all the things he's been wondering throughout the day, Claude doesn't have any particular worry hanging over his head as he takes the elevator up to his floor. After all, Dimitri seems like the stiff and responsible sort, who had been careful and respectful the entire time that Claude had been with him over the last few days. No doubt he's been fidgeting and waiting for Claude, so that he could have some supervision and feel relief at not accidentally breaking anything.  
  
That's what he thinks all the way up until he opens the door to his apartment, and the smell of cheese and smoke wafts over him.  
  
Blinking, Claude shuts his door behind him, and discards both his bag and his shoes by it in short order. He hardly even thinks about it, not when there's a mystery right in front of him. Granted, it's a mystery that doesn't take very long to solve. All he needs to do is step forward, and he can spot the situation in the kitchen right away. "What are you _doing_?" he asks, openly amused, and Dimitri jolts, almost tumbling backwards against one of the counters, as he spins around to face him.  
  
Not that Claude really _needs_ to ask. It's kind of obvious to see what happened: dirty plates delicately stacked up on the counter, the carton of eggs that is still left wide open, and the frying pan that's on the stovetop. Nothing is on fire, which is great news and really the only important kind of news, but Dimitri still wears guilt almost better than he'd wore his armor. "I apologize," he says immediately, even though Claude doesn't _think_ he said anything particularly aggressive. "I meant to cook for you."  
  
"You could have just made me a sandwich and I would have accepted that as well," Claude says, amused as he drifts ever closer to get an idea of just what sort of kitchen disaster Dimitri has wrought. "Have you been making me nothing but omelettes...?"  
  
"They were all made for practice," Dimitri sighs, shifting into a sort of relaxed soldier's stance with his hands folded behind his back. It still doesn't take away from the scolded puppy demeanor he's somehow managing to put on to an almost _impeccable_ degree. "I did not want to simply stay here, doing nothing, while you were hard at work..."  
  
Claude chuckles under his breath. "I guess you don't want to just be a kept man, huh?" he says. Dimitri blinks at him, the joke going over his head. That's fine. As he comes around the kitchen island, Claude pauses himself. "Hey, that actually doesn't look too bad..."  
  
It's honestly not the most fantastic of compliments; Claude knows he could do better. It's just that he's actually pretty surprised by how good it looks, with even a few bits of green and meat showing throughout the dish, and, well. Sometimes words fail even a great guy like him. Yet despite the weakness of the compliment, Dimitri still blossoms like a moonflower unveiling at night. "Thank you. I am glad that this result finally bore something good to it. I was starting to feel ill..."  
  
"I bet." Claude laughs, going over to the trash can he has tucked away underneath the counters - one of the conveniences he's glad he has, for food stuff only. How many omelettes has Dimitri thrown away by now? "So what gave you trouble practicing all of them before? Have you never made omelettes before?"  
  
"I have made eggs before!" Dimitri protests, leaning forward. "It was the cooking device - the stove - which gave me difficulty. I made far too many of them that were not solid enough, or were too burnt..."  
  
Ah yes, poor guy. Although that explains why he'd been paying so much attention the night before, while Claude was cooking... "Well, the good news is that it's an electric stove, so you at least won't have to worry about gas," he muses, opening the small door and peering inside. Except... What he sees can't be right at all, and Claude blinks a couple of times. He can see some vegetable bits that were cut away because they're not edible, and obviously a ton of egg shells, but... "Hey, Dimitri, where did all the failed omelettes go?"  
  
"I ate them."  
  
Straightening up, Claude looks at the egg carton. The now completely empty egg carton. Next to a plate with one single omelette on it. "So," he says after a second, absorbing the shock of this information. "You ate five omelettes?"  
  
"I wasn't going to _waste_ them," Dimitri says, and that's it. That's it!  
  
Claude bursts out laughing.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Typically, eating five omelettes all in a row doesn't really do great for a person's digestive system, and Dimitri is left sprawled on the spare room bed in the morning. Claude rubs his back sympathetically when he drops by before leaving for work. "You know, I'm pretty sure I told you this a couple of days ago," he tells him, "but the fridge helps food stay good for longer. Maybe next time use it for food, huh?"  
  
"It slipped my mind," Dimitri groans, muffled because of how his face is buried into the pillow. "I knew you said I could remove food from there and it would be in fine condition... but I did not think of the reverse."  
  
"It happens to the best of us."  
  
Nudging his face just enough to peer sulkily up at Claude from beneath that golden hair strewn everywhere, Dimitri huffs. "Those words would be more reassuring if you said them without sounding as though you were about to laugh at my misery again."  
  
Claude winks. "Caught in the act~. But, hey, if you manage to feel up to it by the time I get done with work, I can come get you so that we can go get more food together. I think you'll really be interested in grocery stores-"  
  
Of course, he barely has any time to finish his sentence before Dimitri is jolting up with clear interest, his arms pressing down against the bed. "Yes!" he exclaims, before he seems to remember himself and he tries to rein it in. "I mean... If you would not mind more of my ignorance for such a trip. After seeing how even the kitchen of one's home can be so grand and complicated... I admit I have wondered what it is like for the places you get food at."  
  
Honestly... That enthusiasm is pretty cute. Claude has a full set of functioning senses, he's not going to deny how cute this is. His grin widens. "It's definitely going to be an eye opener... But why don't we make an afternoon out of it, then? There's a lot more to see than the grocery store." Although a part of him wonders if this is going to bite him in the ass later on.... Presumably, whatever got broken enough to dump a man in the future will eventually get fixed, through the will of the divine, or whatever the Saints can be called. Is he going to cause an alternate universe scenario to happen?  
  
Well, if it happens, then it happens, and it's probably far too late to change things either way, and has been ever since Dimitri was first dropped at his feet from a great height. Claude isn't so cruel as to change things now... especially when he sees Dimitri's smile, radiant where it is as he sinks back into his pillows. "Thank you, Claude. I will do my utmost best to recover, then."  
  
The human body's rate of recovery isn't really something that can be decided by a person. It does what it does, at the rate that it best can, and the only thing one can do is often not antagonize it any worse than it already is. Still, if that means he'll stay in bed like this instead of overworking to make up for feeling useless...  
  
"Make sure that you do," Claude tells him, with another reassuring stroke of Dimitri's back. "Anyway, if you get bored of being in here and doing nothing again, there's still the television. You know how to turn it on, so just be careful you know the difference between a glorified play and actual fact." There's a muffled agreement, and Claude takes that as the perfect time to leave.  
  
"You really do seem far too happy," Lysithea comments as he's going over some figures with her. It's only then does he realize he's started to smile a little bit with absolutely no prompting, just because he's thinking about what Dimitri's reaction will be to things like the freezer aisle of a grocery store. "Are you really _that_ much of a cat person?"  
  
Jeez. That rumor really is starting to spiral out of control. Unfortunately for all of his friends, Claude doesn't really see a reason to correct it that much. He just chuckles, and taps his fingers. "He's a really cute stray, you know. Maybe one day you'll understand."  
  
"One of these days, you're going to learn that overusing a joke is just going to get you in trouble," Lysithea grumbles. "Do you even know how to raise a cat? I thought you only knew how to raise big animals like wyverns. Cats are a lot smarter and far more stupid. They do all sorts of ridiculous things."  
  
Spoken like someone who has absolutely raised a cat before. Claude bites back his own grin again, and then quickly gives up on it. "Funnily enough, now that you mention it, I came home to find out that my stray had overeaten while waiting for me to come back..."  
  
"That's exactly what I'm talking about."  
  
"Don't worry." Claude winks. "I plan on shopping for some more essentials this afternoon."  
  
When he finally comes back home after ducking out a little earlier than normal, Dimitri is already waiting for him, and fully dressed, too. Claude whistles, taking in his clothing - no longer the simple tee shirt and jogging pants he'd gotten for when Dimitri is asleep, but instead that dark blue plaid button up, matching his black jeans. "Well, don't you look nice."  
  
Over at the couch where he'd risen, one hand along the back, Dimitri ducks his head down politely. "I still must thank you for all of the clothes," he says. Behind him, the television is playing some sort of anime - wait, Claude knows that one, one of those series from a few decades ago, the isekai with the monster companions? Jeez, he feels a little old now. His attention returns back to Dimitri as the blond keeps speaking. "If there's anything I can do..."  
  
"I told you that we'll figure something out," he says mildly, because this is a conversation that seems to keep reoccurring. Dimitri really _can't_ be just a guy sitting at home, pampered and spoiled. "At any rate, it seems like once you turn off the television, we'll be ready to go." Those words are enough to get Dimitri rushing, turning off the channel that Claude didn't even know he had access to, and hurrying back to his side.  
  
That excitement hangs all around Dimitri, even for something as simple as walking down the hall to the elevator. As they board that little metal box, Claude remembers... Right. Ever since Dimitri first fell into this time, it's the first time he's ever actually _gone_ anywhere. He glances at the taller man from the corner of his eye, takes in the way his eye is sparkling and how Dimitri is so desperately holding his hands behind his back so that he can hold back on the fidgeting he very _clearly_ wants to do.  
  
Man... He can't help feel a little bad, because of that. Claude knows it's not entirely his fault, of course. Dimitri has gotten sick twice in the small amount of time he's been here, and the days he wasn't sick have mainly involved Claude getting the apartment prepared for a surprise second existence within its walls. So it's not as though he blames himself for any of that. It's just... What a way to spend the time.  
  
"You know, despite the fact that you're living in my apartment, I don't really know a lot about you," he muses aloud, as the elevator begins to slowly shudder to a halt. It's _almost_ enough to make the way Dimitri starts a little, and the awkward and embarrassed way his mouth contorts when he looks at Claude. "I know going to the grocery store is going to be really exciting and all, just because there will be things you aren't used to... but what sort of things do you like to do? Or just things you like in general, I suppose."  
  
There are no doubt plenty of more subtle ways to go about finding this information... And yet Claude is refreshed to know that he doesn't _need_ to in this case. It's almost like chatting with Raphael, even if the two instances are completely different. Yet, at their core, he supposes they're still very much the same: the lack of _needing_ any opacity. With Raphael, it had simply because he's a man so upfront and honest that there's really no need for it - he wears everything right there on his chest and on his sleeve and on his face. It makes things just... really blessedly simple.  
  
And then, with Dimitri... With Dimitri, there's also no need, just for entirely different reasons. He's blissfully untethered to the machinations that churn through the world that Claude lives in.  
  
Besides, much like Raphael, all of Dimitri's emotions are right there in plain sight as well with the way he taps along his jaw and furrows his brows slightly in thought. "Well, if it comes to things that I like to do... I suppose I am an active person above all else. It makes me feel better when I have a task at hand that I can accomplish, something to strive towards."  
  
"This isn't a work interview," Claude comments as the elevator comes to a stop, and the doors slide open. "You just sound like you're trying to convince me into giving you more things to do so that you can repay the debt you think you owe."  
  
Still coming to an awkward jolt of a stop when the doors automatically slide open at the entrance, Dimitri coughs into his fist. "I... No, you are right. I apologize for that. I suppose I am simply far too used to how I am to present myself. Although I was not lying - I far prefer physical activities to anything else. Do people still ride horses in this day and age...?"  
  
"You mean the average horse, no wings, just four legs?" Claude asks thoughtfully, waiting for Dimitri to come join him outside. "Some people do, but it's considered either a _really_ rich people thing or a _really_ rural thing - places that live off in the country instead of in the city or small towns."  
  
Dimitri raises an eyebrow. "That is _quite_ the discrepancy between the two."  
  
Claude laughs, but he doesn't argue the point. It's true, after all. "Well, it is what it is. Anyway, while pegasi have their places in the city, horses are a little more rare. I think that the only real reason pegasi are around are because of how they can fly... and that they're a lot harder to steal than a wyvern." He says it as an off-handed comment, but Dimitri suddenly laughs into his hand. "Oh, is that the laughter of someone who knows that fact from experience?"  
  
"One of my closest friends is a pegasus rider," Dimitri says, craning his neck upwards so that he can stare at the buildings that are towering overhead. Claude makes sure to stick close besides him, and nearest to the street, so that the blond doesn't wander off into traffic. "Wherever we went, we never had to be too concerned about how she could care for either herself or her pegasus..." Trailing off, he shakes his head, and looks back to Claude. Maybe he also understands what an issue it is if he walks into the street. "Anyway, to answer your question properly, I liked to go horseback riding, although that seems to be not as acceptable here..."  
  
True, it would definitely take a bit of time... Claude thinks he can recall some sort of horse riding place on the outskirts of the city, but it would take some doing to get there. He _really_ doesn't have the time for such a trip. All he has is time enough to go grocery shopping... with a little extra. "So I take it that means you like animals, then?" he asks, thinking about the various places that are on the way to the grocery store.  
  
"I suppose so," Dimitri muses. "I have never been able to have a proper pet... but I have always like the hunting hounds used, and have often entertained the attentions of a stray cat. Horses are a little skittish, but I have found that is part of the appeal."  
  
"That's surprising, because most people don't really care for skittish animals. It puts them on edge."  
  
"They are calm if you are calm," Dimitri says with a shake of his head. "I like that... Going out on a ride is calming all on its own, and once the horse trusts you... I suppose it is difficult to explain." As he finishes that, he finally takes stock of where they're going, and looks over his shoulder at the stairs descending down into the earth which they've just passed. "Are we not using the subway station?"  
  
So he remembered the term! Very good. "Nah," Claude says cheerfully, now with a slightly better idea of where he wants to go. "There's a grocery store that's not so far from my apartment. I have my bags with me, so it should be fine if we just drop in and head out. But there's somewhere that I think you might like even better that we're going to drop by first."  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
If there is something truly adorable in the world, it's watching a man with brick wall shoulders and muscles like an Adrestian Renaissance statue just sink completely into the embrace of a dozen cats like he's been welcomed into paradise. "So I'm going to take this as a sign that you like the idea of a cat cafe," Claude says with a wide grin, relaxing at the table they were guided to.  
  
"I did not realize that there was a place where one simply gathered cats," Dimitri murmurs, trying not to smile too hard and absolutely failing despite all his efforts. For whatever reason, one of the cats has decided that licking Dimitri's face is absolutely a top priority. They're really a rather beautiful cat, with a stock frame that had landed like a sack of flour from a nearby cat tree and long fluffy coat of gray and white. It makes their bright orange eyes stand out all the more. "Is this an indulgence as well?"  
  
"Of a sort," Claude agrees easily, glancing down at his pants. They're already covered from the bottom to the top in cat fur, and he doesn't even think he's done more than pet a single cat - a pretty brown and black Manx who'd rushed by him at the sound of some sort of squeaky toy. "Some people just like the idea of being surrounded by a ton of cats, or can't have cats at their own home for whatever reason, so this is definitely the kind of place where they simply go to relax. However, it's also used for other things. The people here work really hard to keep cats off the streets, so that they'll be safer and healthier. Plus, if anyone shows interest in a certain cat, they can take them."  
  
"Just like that?" Dimitri asks, now trapped underneath a slim and pretty kitty with black stripes over a pretty pale brown coat.  
  
"Well there's some paperwork involved... and they have to make sure that your home is in good order so that they're not just tossing them into a bad situation." Claude grins. "But more or less. Anyway, it's called a cafe for a reason - do your best to free yourself from your feline captors so that you can come up here and look at the menu, okay?"  
  
As is absolutely expected, it takes some time for Dimitri to convince the felines to remove from his person. He's a pretty solidly built guy, and incredibly warm as well - all reasons why cats feel there's no good reason why they should move off. Still, it does happen, and soon Dimitri joins him at the tiny little table made with cats in mind.  
  
That is to say it's attached to the floor and not made with anything in mind that would encourage particularly rambunctious animals to gnaw on them. As Dimitri looks down at the menu, something actually hits Claude, and he looks up. "Hey, actually... Can you read anything there?"  
  
Dimitri blinks at him, and then at the menu. "I... I can, actually," he says, sounding surprised at this fact. At Claude's subtly fluttering hand gesture, he lowers his voice appropriately. "It did not even occur to me that this were strange... Perhaps this is something given to me when I- came here?" It's said a little awkwardly, but Claude doesn't blame him there. It's kind of hard to talk about time travel so casually.  
  
"It'd be nice if we could get some more solid answers," Claude muses, looking back down to the menu he has before him. He traces his fingers along the lines of words, hardly even really thinking about what he's reading. "But I'm not sure how exactly we could get in contact with someone like that..."  
  
"I have been told prayer is the typical way," Dimitri says, and, well well well - doesn't his voice sound just a _tad_ dry for someone that should be extremely religious considering the time period he's from?  
  
Still, while Claude can recognize sarcasm when he sees it, he has to admit that it's not a bad idea. There has to be a _reason_ that Byleth appeared in the greenhouse as they did, when they did.... Claude taps his fingers along the menu before he smiles. "We can solve that later. Any idea on what you want? This is just meant to be a relaxed place, so we're not getting a huge meal or anything."  
  
Dimitri nods in understanding. "If it's simply just something to help the cats... Then I would not mind something warm, so perhaps some chamomile tea, and a honey pastry?"  
  
Stuff like that is pretty simple to whip up, and it's done in absolutely no time. Both of them are careful not to give any of their treats to the cats, which Claude suspects the cafe staff appreciate considering all the signs they've hung up in various places and in adorable cat-themed photo frames. As the two of them indulge in cats who are determined to at least make a comfy home on their laps even if the tables are barred to them, Claude chuckles. "You know, I've never been inside one of these cafes either..."  
  
"Really?" Dimitri pauses from his latest attempt to keep a cat from the table - this time a cat that's the smooth brown of Claude's own hair, from ear to tip, no deviation. "Yet you knew about it... And you seem to understand how it works fairly well."  
  
"Well, it was a big deal when this place first got put together." Claude chuckles, lazily petting a cat with one hand as he eats with the other. If he may say so, he's quite the talent for doing multiple things at once. "The whole story probably doesn't really matter much to you... But let's just say there was some drama with the first person who made a cat cafe here in Derdriu, the kind that actually made the news, and so everyone was really interested in how this place would turn out even if they didn't otherwise care about cats, or cafes, or cat cafes." He quirks up an eyebrow, picking up his own tea. "What's funny about that?"  
  
Aware of the smile he's been making this whole time, Dimitri shakes his head. "Oh, it is not something that's _funny_ so much as..." He glances back around the cafe again, and the many cats that are drinking up all the attention. "Well. When you think of certain things, of how time progresses, one always imagines the enormous things which change countries and generations - the technology, the way culture has shifted, important laws passed and speeches given. And yet... Inbetween all of that is still life as it is. The regular dramas of people, and the little failures of little businesses that has tongues wagging. I just... thought it was interesting. That is all."  
  
"That's a lot of thought for something as simple as a cat cafe," Claude says, amused. "Well, you're not wrong... People tend to get caught up in the big picture, the flashy things. Little stuff often gets overlooked. That's how we have stuff that's satisfying in the short term, but not particularly good in the long term."  
  
"Is that related to your business once more? The... Golden Deer, I believe you called it?"  
  
Well, he supposes he was going to talk about it one way or the other. "Why do you ask?" he himself asks anyway, just because he thinks he knows the answer for Dimitri's assumptions but he's always been a lot more satisfied with outright facts instead.  
  
"You said that one of your siblings is responsible for helping find a way to take care-" There's a pause, Dimitri digging through his mind for the appropriate term he learned only a couple days ago. "They were called batteries, were they not?" Claude nods. "So I thought... Well. Perhaps it has changed in all this time, but it is - common where I come from for family members to have similar jobs to one another. I thought that... perhaps it were true in this case as well."  
  
"Well, I won't say you're wrong..." Claude chuckles. "Maybe one day I'll tell you a little more about it. For now, this was a pretty fun aside, wasn't it? We're lucky - they have times where you have to schedule an appointment to be here."  
  
Dimitri's eyebrows rise. "An _appointment_ to play with cats?"  
  
Honestly, when Claude thinks of how things must have been in Dimitri's time... He ducks his head, laughing softly to the cat on his lap that peers up at him with big ol' eyes. "It sounds absurd when you put it that way!"  
  
There's no reason to leave such a comfortable place early, and the staff is fine with it as Claude continues with steady refills of snacks for both him and Dimitri. Especially snacks, as a matter of fact, something he is more than happy to watch Dimitri eat. Granted, it makes him feel like some dork watching nothing but a playlist of different videos of people trying different foods for the first time, but.... Thanks to that constant watching, he can't help but notice something.  
  
"I adore the texture of all of the foods they have here," Dimitri sighs, patting a fat cat with long white fur that has somehow ascended to his shoulders. The staff have all been watching carefully, but it seems there's no need to worry about that particular positioning. If there's one cat in this whole building that doesn't want to shove their head into a coffee or tea cup, it's this one. "It's so soft and satisfying, like nothing I've ever had before. It will..." He cuts himself off. "Well. I think I've been spoiled enough, is what I mean to say."  
  
"We _do_ need to go get groceries," Claude agrees, gently shooing a cat off of his lap so that he can rise to his feet. "Although I think you're one of the few people in the entire world who would say that he's been spoiled enough. Most people want to be spoiled _more_ , when they get the chance to be."  
  
Gently prying away the probably good half a dozen cats that have made their home on him in some form or another, an ability that has absolutely made some of the other tables jealous, Dimitri chuckles. "I believe this entire afternoon is going to be a delight for me."  
  
And he's not wrong, either. Once Claude pays for what's honestly been a fun experience for him as well, they're back onto the streets, and onto the more mundane needs portion of the block. Not every place can be a cat cafe, or sell clothing, although Claude has to tug Dimitri away from what others might mistake as window shopping. No, there are the other necessities of life, like convenience stores, and wyvern and pegasus specialized shops. The grocery store, when they finally get to it, seems like the largest out of all of them.  
  
Dimitri sticks to his side almost like a little kid, doing his absolute best not to get separated amongst all the people that fill the space up. "What is that?" he asks in a hushed whisper, looking directly up at the security cameras which keep track of the whole store. "And - I'm sorry, Claude, what are those as well?"  
  
"Those are devices that can see things and show other people what's happening on television screens like in my apartment," Claude says idly, heading directly towards one half of the store. "As for, uh-" He double checks what Dimitri was pointing at. "-that, that's an electric fan, for when a place is too hot. You know what..." And he abruptly turns around, hooking his arm around one of Dimitri's. "Let's start at the other end of the grocery store."  
  
He _was_ going to start at the vegetables, to give Dimitri some familiarity... But in hindsight, Claude thinks going through all the unfamiliar items first might actually help keep their food a little more fresh instead of waiting as Dimitri discovers how toothpaste works this century.  
  
So he guides him first through all the non-food aisles. There's a lot, even in a store meant mainly to sell food. There are some of the different cards, meant for all sorts of occasions, and which Dimitri seems to delight in over everything else. Then they spend a bit of time in what little clothing is offered up for sale - mostly jackets or hats, scarves, things that can be grabbed very quickly in case of some inclement weather.  
  
"You can even have clothing pre-made and available for so many people immediately," Dimitri murmurs, feeling out a scarf inbetween his thumb and forefinger. "I wish we could have had the same in - where I'm from. It would have changed perhaps not everything, but it still could have helped ease some people's suffering..."  
  
"Hindsight is 20/20," Claude says, before he reconsiders that particular version of the saying. "Or, you know - we all think we know everything perfect when we look back at it. Don't worry about it too much." And before he can let Dimitri fall back into that, he tugs him along some more, so that he can get a good look at the various shampoos that are on sale. To his amusement, when he has Dimitri pick some shampoo and conditioner, he chooses a rather soft and floral scent rather than anything else.  
  
Whatever makes him happy. Claude just hopes he doesn't go extreme on perfume or anything, like Lorenz used to do when he first met him all those years ago.  
  
If it were just Claude all on his own, he'd already have a mental map prepared in his head of the exact route to go on to maximize efficiency, his brain thinking about everything else he'd have to do once he got home, whether that was his own work with Golden Deer, or simply the next little experiment he wanted to do with whatever he was picking up from the store in the first place. As much as he has always enjoyed seeing whatever new items might have popped up when he wasn't looking, Claude just doesn't have that kind of time anymore. It's one of many unfortunate side effects that has come with being an adult, and running Golden Deer.  
  
Dimitri... makes him remember what it was like to be a kid again, stopping at every new thing, holding a question out every other moment. It's not something Claude hates. In fact... That's far from how he feels. All he can do is smile, letting himself be tugged along, or guiding Dimitri in turn. When they get to the frozen food section, Dimitri's mouth falls open, and Claude laughs a little as he reaches up to tap it closed. "Hey, people are going to stare, you know," he teases. A grocery store is a little different than on the street or in a subway tunnel, after all.  
  
"I apologize," Dimitri says, although his eye still sparkles with fascination as he looks upon a box of frozen lasagna. Claude ponders getting it, and decides not to. That really is _way_ too much food for just two people, and could probably last them an entire week alone. "But what a magnificent way of making sure food never once goes to waste..."  
  
Claude leans over to see what sort of things are on sale in the rows of open freezers which go right down the middle. "Well, I wouldn't say they never go to waste," he murmurs, taking in how good a price is made for some premade vegan burgers all neatly lined up in a box already. If he just took those out, could just dump the box in recycling, and there'd definitely be more room in his freezer... "Anyway, a lot of these are good because they don't require you knowing how to cook, and some of them are much quicker than making them from scratch. They have instructions, so you'll be fine. I just have to teach you how to use the kitchen stuff..."  
  
"I will endeavor to learn as quickly as possible," Dimitri promises, looking over his shoulder. Just because he happens to stare at them for so long, and Claude rather likes them himself, he grabs some teriyaki bowls all done up in a box as well. It's a good thing he remembered to bring his bags with him after stopping by the apartment to pick up Dimitri...  
  
Dimitri, who he grins at. "You know, you don't have to endeavor to do anything. Considering how quickly you adjusted to the stove even while I was gone, just from watching me do it, I think you'll be fine."  
  
"I thought it would be important...!"  
  
Of course he's not _wrong_. Claude just continues to tease him all the way through the frozen section regardless, even as he glances through his phone for some recipes he'd saved while he was at work. While he may have just been jerking everyone around back at Golden Deer... He does have to admit that there's something satisfying to cooking again, putting so many different things together into one satisfying whole. That was one of the things he remembers loving so much, back when he and his siblings were all young enough to be gathered into the kitchen with little fuss, and his father made sure to take time out of his work schedule just for that, with them...  
  
When did that change? He'd wonder about the answer, except Claude unfortunately knows it.  
  
At least he doesn't have to worry about anything with Dimitri. Dimitri just gathers up everything that Claude could ever want, shining at the rows of produce that are so wonderfully displayed, no matter how bumpy or a little off-color some of them are. In fact, more than anyone else Claude can see picking out fruits and vegetables, Dimitri seems happy to just pick good food regardless of shape. It's... nice.  
  
"You don't have to carry everything, you know," Claude says in amusement as they return back to the street. In the time it's taken for them to go through basically the entirety of the store, the afternoon sunlight has long since faded away. In its place, the streetlights offer a reassuring path back through everything, accompanied by the shine of various stores and restaurants that are still open.  
  
It's an enticing sight even to Claude, so of course Dimitri has to visibly fight from becoming too entranced as he follows after Claude. "I insist," he says, holding both bulging bags close to his chest. "This sort of thing is the very least of what I can do for you. Besides, this is hardly the most I have carried."  
  
That's not even something Claude can call into question either. On their very first day, Dimitri ran all over town alongside him while he hauled about a full set of plate armor in his arms, plus the box that Claude had procured for it. Hell, it's very clear to him that Dimitri wore that armor constantly before arriving in this time period because of.... whatever else that was responsible. Still, he shakes his head. "You know, if you overwork yourself like you did with those omelettes, then that could be a problem all its own..."  
  
"I will make sure that never happens again," Dimitri promises. Well, if he promises, Claude can't really do much else. The two of them fall silent again, with Dimitri looking all around them. He speaks up after a few minutes of walking, as the two of them sidestep a decently sized group of giggling teenagers. "This place is so lively, even though the sky is dark..."  
  
"That's a big city like this for you." Claude smiles. This is another part he loves about Derdriu. Something about it matches the constant movement he can feel in his soul, that need to always be learning or doing something. Derdriu lives almost like a human being lives, with the people in its streets forming the blood in its veins. "It'll calm down the closer we get to the apartment, if that bothers you." Maybe one day, he'll take Dimitri out to see some of the night time events... Not even the clubs or anything, but just some of the little things like art nights, or fireworks.  
  
Assuming Dimitri will even be around long enough for all of those, he guesses. They _still_ have no better idea on how long he's going to be here at all. Whatever divine fuck up was responsible sure hasn't come to take any responsibility...  
  
The good news is that Claude is plenty responsible enough for it himself, despite what his many acquaintances might otherwise say to anyone willing to listen. He's more than fine with walking alongside Dimitri, out of the bustling streets that still thrive underneath the moon and into the quieter darkness that is the little batch of residential he lives in. There's still some action going on, of course- a few cars driving by, small offices staying open for just an hour or two longer to clean everything up, people returning from their own quick errands to a convenience store or a friend's place.  
  
Still, for the most part... Even with all the lights and such, it's often more quiet and empty than anything else. Claude can't remember the last time he went walking like this... Usually when it's gotten this late, he muses, Leonie or Ignatz gives him a ride, or Raphael and Hilda walk him home. Dimitri is still there, of course, but it's a different vibe, a different reason. Honestly, he supposes it's not too-  
  
Someone suddenly lunges out from a small side street and drags him in.  
  
Claude acts. Doesn't think. He digs his heels in, pulls his free arm close to his chest - other one is grabbed, can't be helped. Gritting his teeth, he gives up on getting a good look at his assailant, and just focuses on making as much of an issue as he can while turning his head away. He's really getting sick of this kind of thing, honestly. Making sure to keep his face turned away from the person grabbing him, so that they can't do anything to his mouth, he takes in a sharp breath.  
  
He doesn't scream. It's less because he _can't_ , however, but because his assailant is suddenly and _brutally_ yanked off of him, and Claude is left stumbling back from the leftover force of his own resistance. Blinking, he hastily gets his bearings and skitters into the nearest circle of light, courtesy of a street lamp. As he looks back into that small dark side street... He takes in how Dimitri fits well in with those shadows, with his brilliant golden hair the only beacon in the darkness, something that shines brightly, and reveals how he's holding up Claude's assailant up with a single grip around their face.  
  
Hoo. Okay. So. That's sure an image.  
  
As the adrenaline pounds in Claude's head, makes it hard for him to put his thoughts together after being yanked so suddenly from action to inaction, Dimitri's voice breaks through. "I apologize, Claude," the man says, his normally low voice suddenly a great deal darker, intimidating and enticing in equal measure that sends alarm bells all the way up Claude's spine and rattling about his skull. "I dropped the groceries."  
  
Claude's brain stutters at this unexpected intrusion, a wifi connection struggling with the addition of a new device. Automatically, he glances over to where he _last_ saw Dimitri. Sure enough, the enormous bags that he'd had in his arms are left strewn across the concrete sidewalk, some of their haul spilled out of them. "Oh, it's fine," he says, mouth running on autopilot. "I mean, even if some of the veggies get bruised, it doesn't mean they're not edible." His heart is still pounding viciously in his chest. Is there any air even left in his lungs? It doesn't feel like it, but there must. Claude breathes out. "Thanks for the help."  
  
"I could not simply stand by." The person that just attacked Claude is violently trying to lash out, kicking out at Dimitri and banging their fists along his arms, doing everything they possibly can. Nothing. Nada. Dimitri doesn't react an inch. "What would you like to do with this dastard, Claude?" Claude thinks Dimitri tightens his grip on the person's face a bit, still holding them with their feet off the ground, because all that thrashing suddenly stops.  
  
Bit by bit, his heart is starting to settle a little, and Claude breathes out again. "It's nothing you have to do yourself," he says, reaching into his pocket for his phone. As he does so, he jerks his head back to the ring of light he's standing in. "Don't let them hide in the shadows. Bring them over, won't you? I want to get a good look."  
  
More than anything else, he wants to get a nice good picture of the ass, and he instructs Dimitri into helping him get the perfect one so that they're hauled about by the back of their shirt instead of held by the face. Considering Claude steals their wallet while they're dangling there, and rifles through that _along_ with taking a nice clear picture of their face... Well, it's up to their dear assailant if it's a worthwhile trade off or not. Comfort or security?  
  
Claude prefers both, and he smiles at their brute. "Wow, I can tell you were really hired for cheap, weren't you?" he teases. "I can tell that you don't even have any fake features or make up put onto you. You know that a dye job isn't going to help in a situation like this, right? I almost feel bad for your employer... Anyway, you can run off for free."  
  
"Claude!" Dimitri hisses, finally putting the assailant down as he looks around them. They might be a little suspicious for the time being, but Claude doesn't feel bad. He plans on finishing this quick, and so he just waves a hand at Dimitri. He's fine. He can handle this.  
  
He continues on like he was never interrupted in the first place. "Just know that I'll be letting your employer have an idea of how badly you failed," Claude says, winking. "Honestly, didn't she tell you anything? She's been sending people after me so much that it's becoming predictable at this point." He has no idea what he's talking about, of course. This is a pure 33% chance of success in terms of guessing who it might be, or at least hinting it to this two-bit thug. A shot in the dark... and a shot that makes its mark as he watches his assailant go stiff. "Well, good luck dealing with that! And have a good night, won't you? As long as it can last, anyway."  
  
While Dimitri clearly doesn't like it, he nonetheless puts the person down on the ground again, and watches them with a razor sharp eye as the little bastard scurries back off into side streets. No doubt they'll go off to get onto the quickest subway car out of the area, no matter where their actual destination is... That's not Claude's issue any more. Instead, his most pressing issue is crouching down to start taking care of the spilled groceries. At least this didn't take too long... He doesn't want anything to thaw that shouldn't.  
  
Needless to say, Dimitri joins him, although his brow is furrowed and a frown has made its home firmly on its face. Well, it's not as though it's some grand mystery as to what's on his mind. "Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for jumping in," Claude says mildly, since this is going to be a conversation sooner than later. "This isn't the first time that kind of thing has happened, but, well, you know."  
  
Dimitri lets out a huff of hair, that cloud of darkness still hanging around his head. "If you are in so much danger, then you should be more careful," he says.  
  
"Hey, I had you, didn't I?" Claude says, and winks at him. "Anyway... It's a long story, so let's finish it at my home." The middle of the sidewalk really isn't the kind of place for a conversation as important as the one they're going to have. That much is proven as a couple of drunks wobble down the sidewalk, only to nearly trip over themselves when they see the scene there in front of them.  
  
It honestly works out pretty good in Claude's favor. Not only are they the kind of drunk people who apparently get sad over bruised fruit, whispering reassurances to it, but they do their best to clumsily help, and talk about how handsome and pretty Claude and Dimitri are.  
  
Sometimes drunk people are awful. Other times, they just help pack up spilled groceries to the best of their inebriated abilities and give them bar peanuts they were holding onto in their purses.  
  
Not only does it help with the groceries, but that little encounter is definitely more than enough to throw Dimitri off, and the two of them are able to be perfectly fine as they make it back to Claude's apartment. Once they're safely inside, the door locked behind them and the rooms in the apartment checked just in case, Claude guides Dimitri so that he can put the groceries down on the counter.  
  
"I'm going to double check a few things," he tells him. "After that, we can figure out dinner... and I'll tell you why I let that person go, and why I'm used to this sort of thing, alright?"  
  
Being reminded of that incident has Dimitri scowl, but he recovers after a moment, taking a breath and letting it out. "I will keep you to your word then," he tells Claude.  
  
All Claude is really looking for would be any electronics that have been left behind, recording devices that would take in his schedule or try to hack into some of his more personal stuff like his computer. He and Dimitri would at the grocery store for a while, after all... He's not so arrogant as to assume that isn't enough time for anyone to do all sorts of things in his home.  
  
Still, there'd been no sign of anything off at the entrance, and Claude is more than skilled enough, experienced enough, to look through his apartment and pick out anything hidden that he hasn't put away himself. In the end, he's confident: the two bit crook was just a two bit crook, and not a sign of something more concerning.  
  
When he returns to the living space and the kitchen that's attached to it, Dimitri has very meticulously put everything away already. Even the bags have been folded up, and put back on the cubby hole that is near the door. Honestly, it's the cleanest that Claude has ever made his apartment. "Maybe I should have hired you as a maid," Claude laughs, glancing over at Dimitri. He already has a pair of the teriyaki bowls out, and is squinting down at the instructions printed upon their plastic labels. "I feel like I've been doing spring cleaning a few months late."  
  
"Most of the things that were messy were things you simply have to take care of little by little each day," Dimitri says, like a scolding parent. Or, well, like how he's heard some of his friends talk about their parents, anyway.  
  
"Yes~, Daddy," Claude drawls, taking amusement in the private joke while Dimitri just huffs at him for the more public teasing one. "Anyway, so you really wanted to try those foods right away, huh?"  
  
Dimtri shakes his head. "I thought... after how tonight has become, you would not be of the mood to cook," he explains. "You said that these variety of foods are made with such things in mind... so I thought they would be the best fit. And... I want to apologize."  
  
Okay. Claude blinks, pausing besides Dimitri. "Wait... Apologize for what? You're the one who kind of helped to save me from - well, I doubt my _life_ was in danger, but it was certainly a kidnapping or threatening attempt at the very least..."  
  
"And yet I didn't behave as I should have," he says, turning away from the little plastic bowls. There's so much earnestness in that beautiful blue eye of his, something honest and heartstriking. "What happened.... Even if you play it off so easily, even if you say this sort of thing has happened before, it must have been worrying, at the very least. But I... was aggravated, to the point that you could tell. I should have considered you more."  
  
Jeez... Claude ducks his head, laughing a little to himself, even if his heart is doing a stupid kind of fluttering motion. "You know, you're allowed to be pissed too," he tells Dimitri, tugging one of the teriyaki bowls over to himself. Just three minutes, huh? That's not long at all. "You've been holding yourself back ever since you got here, when it comes to being scared, or anxious, or pissed off. I do have to admit... that whatever happens to me will have an enormous impact on you for the time being. So I guess I really do have to be more upfront with you... and it's not a bad thing if you're angry at me because I haven't been telling you anything."  
  
"I..." Dimitri pauses, and sighs. "...Well, even if I did get angry, it didn't feel as though it would do anything... Anger needs a target, at the very least, and it doesn't feel fair for that target to be you."  
  
"So considerate." Going through his drawers, Claude pulls out a fork and punctures through the thin plastic tops. "Well, I'm not sure if it will _help_ , but maybe when I explain things, you'll at least have a better idea of what to do.... or what not to do, or what we _can't_ do. So." Turning around, he clicks open the microwave and smiles over his shoulder at Dimitri. "Let's dig in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. 
> 
> This was made for the Dimiclaude Gift Exchange on twitter (dimiclaudegifts), and I was given a choice of three different prompts. Honestly I really liked all of them - like there was a ghost hunter prompt that I was honestly enamored with - but I tried my best to be rational. I was like "What prompt can I use that I can finish pretty quickly, and keep pretty short?" A few different things were on my plate at the time, and I didn't want to overwhelm myself. 
> 
> So I picked the "medieval knight ends up in a modern time" prompt, because I figured I could probably do a few individual scenes and have that be pretty solid, right? 
> 
> Anyway that clearly didn't happen. 
> 
> See, the thing is, right after I finished with another fandom event I was a part of, I kind of launched right into Nano, and I was like, hey, my deadline is the 24th of this month, why don't I just use this gift exchange prompt as this year's Nano? I don't really do anything on the site itself, but the site I DO use for my writing, 4thewords, does a Nano event, and I want to get all this stuff and finish all the quests!
> 
> SO, UH, WHOOPS! HERE WE ARE! 
> 
> Ash, I hope you like this fic! I have never read or watched a time travel romance Anything, so this ended up a little more Modern Fantasy than strictly Modern With Time Travel as I tried to figure out how Dimitri ended up here in the first place... But I made sure to include some humor that I hope you like, plus a dash of the expected time travel angst! This is my first foray into this particular trope, so I hope it pleases you! 
> 
> fun fact, I got really into some wyvern-pegasi worldbuilding/headcanons as I was writing (pegasi are more closely related to geese than horses, Change My Mind), but i thought that *probably* wouldn't be in your interests, lmao, so I had to force myself not to devote a whole chapter to it...


	2. Noon

Through one side or another, Claude's family has always had an interest in business. On one end, he has his father, a man whose name is synonymous with royalty back in Almyra, an age old kingdom that has managed to survive even from Dimitri's time. Even now, Claude knows he's off back in Almyra, running a country. When he was younger, however, that wasn't always so. Before he could ascend to kinghood, he had to prove himself more outstanding than the rest of _his_ siblings.   
  
It's Almyran tradition. Royalty is in the blood, yes, but royalty is also an _action_ almost more than anything else. From what Claude understands of his history lessons, once upon a time, that meant royalty was on the front lines in protecting the kingdom, or seeking glory. Normal human things, in the end. For those whose deeds became known, who earned the favor and admiration from the people, it was decided in the end that they would become the next king of Almyra - a title that's become genderless over the years, in a way.   
  
As the years have changed, as people and countries and societies have changed, well, going into battle and being an incredible warrior was no longer the kind of thing which could be considered any real basis for choosing a king. Claude is pleased to say that it was a scholar who first changed minds, centuries ago, when they helped come up with systems to make the more common people's lives easier - things to do with spice crops and wyvern care. Flashy battles may turn heads, but it was food and their prized steeds that people returned home to at the end of the day.   
  
That's how it is nowadays. There's a democratically elected council as well, of course, that helps keep things in check, and lots of discussion over the years on if they should really be keeping royalty in this day and age... And yet for now, the royalty is still something that is in place. Perhaps it's because of the fact that they're obligated, by legality and tradition both, to do notable things for their country, and that so much competition with so many siblings ensures a lot of people are working on good answers. Noteworthy accomplishments.   
  
"How did your father become king, then?" Dimitri asks, fascinated and almost as if he's forgotten what he was upset about in the first place. Certainly he's forgotten that he's in the middle of eating, his fork still partway up to his mouth with some rice and chicken on it.   
  
"He married my mother," Claude answers, and laughs at Dimitri's stare. "Well, I said my family has always held an interest in business, didn't I? He had a wife before, but she passed away because of an illness - even here in the future, those sorts of things still befall people. He'd been left behind with all of my other siblings, because they certainly hadn't wasted any time there... But he was fine with taking care of them, even though he was still actively competing to be recognized by my grandfather. So he decided he'd venture out of Almyra with the kids he had at the time, over here to Fodlan."   
  
Dimitri absorbs that, head tilted to the side in curiosity. "Once upon a time, in the years that I know, the Almyran Kingdom had quite a bit of animosity towards the Leicester Alliance... I suppose even with time, old rivalries can shimmer down. That is a comfort."  
  
That makes Claude smile. If there's one thing Dimitri is good at... It's reminding him how far things have come, even with all the troubles that still exist in the world. "Yeah... Anyway, on his visit here to Fodlan, he met my mother through a rather... bombastic story that deserves some time of its own to shine. Needless to say, they hit it off when they only knew each other's first names, or what their backgrounds were like.   
  
"He'd already fallen head over heels for her, even before he'd learned that she was the heiress to a really important company that had risen up from the Leicester Alliance to reign supreme for decades. When they realized how hard they were working to really similar goals... Well, that was just the pin in the wedding for them. She cut ties with her family, at least on the surface, and the two of them made their own company. They helped make huge advances in agriculture - I won't bore you with the details - and sometime during all of that... I was born."   
  
"And those advances were enough to win the people?" Dimitri asks, finally remembering to start eating again. He doesn't even blink twice at the food in his mouth, all of his attention focused on Claude.   
  
He nods. "It was a pretty coordinated effort that targeted a lot of different things... but you can look that sort of thing up in old news articles - I'll have to introduce you on how to use the internet. Anyway... That helped my father secure the throne, along with a few other events. Now, for my generation, the same thing is happening."   
  
"The competition for who shall be king?"   
  
Oh, good, Dimitri understands exactly what it is at its core. "That's right. All of my siblings are doing their utter best to prove their competence... and a lot of them have quite a head start on me." He shrugs casually. "Well, I like to think I've been making some pretty good progress all on my own..."   
  
Dimitri's gaze sharpens, and he has to put his fork down back in the bowl he was eating from so that he can curl a fist. "And that's enough for them to go after you?"   
  
Uh oh. Claude recalls the effortless way that Dimitri had lifted a full grown human adult off their feet with only one hand at that person's face. "It might not have been them," he says reassuringly. "Needless to say, when there's a boom of competition, plenty of other businesses start to get aggravated, and plenty of people aren't ashamed of playing dirty despite how a lot of our businesses are meant to be in the area of cleaning things up. Sometimes it's as simple as spying, and other times it's to scare me away from a certain plan of action - there's a lot of things. And that's not even going into the political aspects."   
  
"So how do you stay safe?" Dimitri asks, pressing his palm against the table and leaning forward. "I have not seen you with so much as a guard!"   
  
"Careful planning," Claude says with a shrug and a twirl of his fork. "Tonight was a bit of an oddity. Normally, when I travel, I'm with one of my close friends who no one would dare go up against in a fight, or two of them, or there are tons of people on the street and I'm in bright and densely populated areas. This apartment generally has pretty good security, and I can tell whenever anyone has broken into my apartment.   
  
"This was just a stroke of bad luck; I genuinely thought I'd be fine so long as I was next to you while we were out getting groceries." He taps his lips with his fork prongs. "Maybe it was because they didn't realize how muscular you really are under those clothes... and assumed they'd be fine if they caught me by surprise while you had your hands full."   
  
Dimitri's jaw tightens, and he stuffs his mouth full of food as if to keep himself from saying anything. Maybe it helps to calm him down, as he takes a calming breath after he's swallowed. "You should have a bodyguard with you at all times," Dimitri finally says. "If it is truly so uncommon to lean self defense here, then that is the least you should do. Someone to protect you, and keep you safe."   
  
Claude chuckles again, trying not to make it too loud or anything in case Dimitri gets offended and thinks he's being laughed at. "I really don't think I can hire a guard to protect me 24/7, you know. It just wouldn't work out in the long run. Most of the time, no one - whether my siblings or business rivals - goes this far. It's an uncommon occasion."  
  
"Even if it is uncommon, that does not mean it never happens, as tonight has demonstrated." Dimitri squares his shoulders. "Then it is decided. I will be your bodyguard."   
  
What. "What."   
  
"I will protect you from all harm," Dimitri says, spearing the remainder of his dinner. "I have been wondering what else I could do here, in order to feel like I can help, and not be a burden-"   
  
"I've literally never said you were a burden," Claude says, but Dimitri just bulldozes right over him.   
  
"-but I do not have many talents to my name, and the recipes they display on the television go far too quickly for me to mimic accurately so that I can prepare you meals every day. I have only been truly gifted at physical labor, and combat. So I will use both to keep you safe!"   
  
Claude presses the heel of his palm against his forehead, brushing his hair out of the way at the same time. "Listen, that's..." But then he pauses, brain latching onto this idea and rapidly making something else out of it. "Actually..." He smiles. "No, nevermind what I was about to say."   
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
"And just _what_ do you have there?" Lorenz asks, already prepared to be aggravated or exasperated.   
  
With a thermos of coffee in his hand, Claude almost manages to get his witty zinger out in time. He really almost does; it was almost the entire reason why he decided to bring some coffee in with him to work instead of getting daily refills from what they have in the breakroom. Instead, Dimitri speaks up before he does, making polite eye contact with Lorenz as he says, "I am Claude's boyfriend. It is nice to meet you."   
  
Lorenz chokes on air. Claude almost chokes on his coffee. The good news is that he manages to handle his surprise a lot more smoothly than Lorenz does, simply swallowing hot liquid far too quickly than is advisable.   
  
It's not something that's really noticeable, fortunately, and he masks it even further as he continues to stride down the hallway to his office. As he passes by Lorenz, he manages enough of a recovery to wink at his poor friend. Then, just like that, he's disappearing behind his doors, with Dimitri following right behind him like a loyal hound.   
  
Once the doors are shut, Claude laughs into his hand and goes to flop into his chair. "I will say that you're doing a really good job of keeping your cool here," he tells the blond, taking another sip of his coffee. "Although I'm curious - why did you introduce yourself that way instead of as my bodyguard?"   
  
"I was attempting to be subtle," Dimitri admits, gaze starting to wander off to the vast amount of bookshelves and cabinets in Claude's office before he forces himself to look back at Claude. No doubt he wants to ask so much about everything, but he's being professional and keeping it together. It's... honestly pretty cute. "We were there in public, after all... And, last night, as you were explaining this all to me, you mentioned that you have had to deal with spies in the past. I thought that... maybe it would be better for me to say something else, before I could be told who to properly trust."   
  
This entire time, Dimitri has come off as a rather honest and genuine person, Claude has to admit. He knows there are deeper depths to him, because everyone has deeper depths. No one would look at Raphael and see the care he's fostered for others, or see Hilda's own fears beyond the relaxed attitude that she displays. Still, while Claude had been willing to let Dimitri keep his secrets, he does have to admit that he wasn't entirely sure if Dimitri would be capable of the... _subtlety_ that their very odd situation demands.  
  
Yet it seems he won't have anything to worry about after all, and Claude reclines with a smile. "Yeah, that's the right attitude to take. Hilda screens every new employee that gets to anywhere substantial within the Golden Deer buildings in a way that would make some governments turn green with envy, and our Raphael makes sure that we don't get any loiterers past a certain floor. Ignatz and Leonie are meant to get back tomorrow, and they usually handle security... but in their absence, Lysithea makes sure not a single sticky note is out of place. Yet even with all of that, well... You know what they say: the only secret is one that no one else knows."   
  
"I cannot deny the truth of that..." Dimitri finally strides across the office to join him, looking out the window. "Well, I will follow your lead, then, on who to reveal any truth to, although I doubt we will reveal the _entirety_ of that truth."   
  
Ha. Yeah, Claude can't say that would go particularly well, even with his friends' trust in him... At best, they would think he was just jerking their chains around as well with a rather poor attempt at a practical joke. At worst, he suspects they would all think he's having some sort of mental break from working too hard and not getting enough sleep.   
  
Best to just... spin a few little lies here, and obscure the truth a bit more. Besides, this isn't really a "Golden Deer" problem. This is purely a Claude problem, and so it's fine if no one else needs to know outside of him and Dimitri and apparently the divine.   
  
Claude will deal with it when he deals with it. For now, he smiles at Dimitri. "Don't worry. You won't have to wait long to get the answer to that. I imagine that we'll have a bunch of people nosing about shortly, especially now that Lorenz has seen you, and you basically announced who you were in public. New faces get a lot of interest here. Anyway, if you want to pull up a chair and relax, I won't mind."   
  
Unfortunately, besides keeping watch, he's not sure what use he can have for Dimitri here. All of this is just convenient in keeping Dimitri from possibly burning his apartment down or downloading a virus to his computer... and maybe something else as well, something they can only get here at the Golden Deer building.   
  
For a moment, Dimitri wobbles in place with no clear indication that he even knows where he wants to go, before he turns once again to the massive view outside of Claude's window. Much like at his apartment, it's quite a height they're at, but the wyverns are a lot more active around these parts, as is the pegasi traffic a couple of floors beneath them. "Does the noise ever bother you?"   
  
"You mean from all the air traffic?" Claude asks lightly, starting up his computer. "Nah. Any steeds in the air are basically legally kept a certain distance away from buildings, with the exception of places where they're legally allowed to land. Sometimes on really busy days, it manages to get through... but, more often than not, they're so far away that it's hardly any noisier than the traffic on the ground, honestly. Depending on how it is in _here_ , I might not here anything at all because of how much conversation is going on."   
  
That's all he can really say on the matter, however, because he's barely opened up a web browser with his email address typed before the office doors swing wide open. "Hey, boss!" Raphael says cheerfully, with Lorenz, Lysithea, and Hilda almost falling over. Claude is pretty sure they were all going to try and eavesdrop on him in a second... So it's a good thing him and Dimitri were just talking about inner city air traffic. "I heard you brought your boyfriend here!"  
  
Trust Raphael to get them all straight to the punch. Judging by the looks their three friends behind them are making, Claude suspects he would have been in for a whole big circular conversation to get him to admit what he's doing, exactly, or who he's dating, up until Lysithea or Lorenz snapped and demanded a straight up answer. Raphael doesn't need to snap. He just walks in and asks what everyone else is thinking. On the other side of the door, Marianne peers in awkwardly, not quite sure what to make of All Of This. Claude doesn't blame her.   
  
All he can do is grin back at Raphael, watching their bulldozer of a friend move over towards Dimitri immediately. "Yup. Raph, this is Dimitri."   
  
Like the polite young man he is, Dimitri meets Raphael halfway, with one hand already extended. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he says, his smile honest. In the back of his head, Claude realizes this is the first person outside of himself that Dimitri has properly _met_. "I promise that I won't get in your way."   
  
"Hey, there's no need to worry about that!" Raphael laughs even louder, and clasps that hand tightly. A lot of people before have quailed underneath the force of Raphael's handshakes; the guy has to remember to hold back.   
  
Yet Dimitri only smiles, and firmly shakes Raphael's hand. It makes their titan of a friend pause, blinking, before realization strikes him, and the widest grin he's had since the last buffet lunch they all went to spreads across his face. He starts to shake Dimitri's hand more energetically, until he's practically flapping it around, and Dimitri's smile can only stay frozen on his face.   
  
Poor guy has absolutely no idea what the hell is going on.   
  
As Dimitri is acclimating to the sheer force of sunshine that is Raphael, the Raphael in question finally lets go and turns to Claude with his grin stretching from ear to ear. "He's a great guy, Claude!" he announces proudly. "Great job!"   
  
What a way to congratulate someone on getting a date. Claude isn't dating anyone, but still, that this is how Raphael reacted to thinking he's dating a guy like Dimitri... Claude just grins. "Thanks, my taste is still impeccable as always," he says, and then looks over to the open door. "Anyway, do the rest of you want to come in to interrogate me, or can you close the door? You're letting the draft in."   
  
Just like that, his friends and coworkers all swarm into his office together, the tide even carrying along poor Marianne despite her protests of "I just wanted to show him an update-!" Watching from the corner of his eye, Claude hides his smile behind one hand as he takes in Dimitri's expression. Poor guy couldn't have had even a single clue that coming along with Claude to the Golden Deer building would result in something like this, even if Claude told him. That's definitely why Claude didn't. Just that, and no other reason. Nope.   
  
"This isn't a dating spot," Lysithea says in annoyed aggravation once they're all in side; poor Ignatz and Leonie are going to be missing out on the party. "What are you thinking?"   
  
"Hey, some places have a Bring Your Kid to work day," Claude says, shrugging. "Anyway, the door is shut and locked, right?"   
  
It's a perfectly casually said statement. Mild. And yet the entire room goes still again, with even Raphael pausing in his constant grinning and shoulder slapping of Dimitri. "Yup, it's locked," Hilda says, grabbing another chair from the side so that she can plop down into it, seated backwards. "Personal conversations deserve privacy and all. But just to make sure, Marianne...?"   
  
Marianne is already over there, going above and beyond as she opens the door to peek out into the hallway before shutting the door once more and firmly locking it. "We're secure," she says quietly, rejoining the rest of them as they gather in front of Claude's desk. With a few taps of his finger, he makes sure that the speakers and video camera on his computer are disconnected - another little preventative measure, just in case. It never hurts to be too cautious with how his life is like. Once that's done, he nods to Dimitri. It only takes that for the other man to step close again, positioning himself behind Claude's chair.   
  
No point in dancing around it. "I got jumped again last night," he says simply. It's like watching a trail of firecrackers go off - the immediate burn of fire in Lorenz's eyes, the steely look that falls over Lysithea, Raphael's own dark expression. Hilda doesn't change, not on the surface with a relaxed and unbothered kind of stare, but she doesn't look away from Claude even a bit.   
  
Marianne doesn't go enraged, not like his other friends, because she goes concerned instead with the way she leans forward, her hand on Lorenz's back. "Did you get hurt?" she asks, eyes bright with worry. That's enough to make Claude's smile soften, a little. Nothing on if anything was stolen from him, nothing on if he knows who it is - is he okay?   
  
Things like this remind him that coming to Fodlan, that starting up Golden Deer, wasn't a bad idea.   
  
"I'm fine," he says reassuringly. "My assailant didn't even have time to get out any sort of weapon, or drug, or whatever else they had in mind." Claude jerks a thumb over his shoulder. "Thanks to Dimitri, who was with me as I went to the store." Who was part of the reason _why_ he was out getting groceries at the store, but little details, unimportant. "They weren't really anything special, just some two-bit jackass on their own, but the fact that they _were_ willing to jump me even when I was accompanied with someone is a little bit concerning."   
  
"You want me to escort you home some more?" Raphael asks, brows furrowed.   
  
Claude shakes his head. "With Verdant Wind rushing to be accomplished as much as possible, we're all on a bit of a time crunch as it is," he says. "I can't possibly feel good about prying you all from the jobs I have you working on right now. If I do that, I'll start prying you away from both things we need to get finished, and your own personal lives." Raphael has a sister to go home to, after all, and Hilda being able to work here at all is if they can reassure her brother that this is a safe job. "Since Dimitri did such a good job of protecting me the first time, I thought it would be better to just hire him as a personal bodyguard, at least until Verdant Wind has reached a decent enough point where people mostly give up on sabotaging its very beginning."   
  
"I wonder what I'll even put down on the forms for him," Hilda muses. "I guess security guard would be the most apt, right?"   
  
"It would," Claude agrees, smiling a little. "But I'm not hiring him as an employee of Golden Deer. I'm using my own funds for this."   
  
Lysithea shakes their head, arms crossed like they're royalty in their own right. "You're not the kind of guy who makes those kinds of decisions for no reason, especially since the company's funds could handle just one more measly bodyguard..."   
  
"Just playing it safe." He shrugs, making himself seem relaxed. "I don't know how much they're going to really dig on this, if they were willing to toss some random thug at me. Maybe they'll dig through our finances, and they'd spot a new employee on the payroll."   
  
"No need for anyone to call nepotism either," Hilda teases, and Claude just grins back at her. So they're still willing to buy that Dimitri is dating him... Well, that _would_ explain why Dimitri was with him at the time that he was attacked. It's a nice, solid cover. He thinks he'll keep using it.   
  
But honestly... "And anyway," he says. "This isn't a Golden Deer thing. This is just a _me_ thing, until we learn more about who hired the guy, and how far it could have gotten. If that person really just wanted to go after anyone in the company to intimidate them, they would have. Instead, it was me. That's telling in its own right, I think. So I'll pay for it out of my own funds." He grins. "I'll be honestly glad if it's _just_ me they're after. That'll narrow down our suspects a lot, and no one else has to get hurt."   
  
"Besides you," Lorenz points out with a huff, hands on his hips.   
  
Claude just winks. "Now, you don't have to worry about me," he says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "Anyway... Lorenz, Lysithea, I took some pictures of the attacker. If you could look into it, just so that we can get a little more information and decide where they stand..."   
  
"We shall dig up every trace of the scoundrel," Lorenz says, with no small amount of determination and pride. "Although, _honestly_ , Claude, what kind of reckless fool comes in the day after he's just been attacked by some random hooligan on the street?"   
  
Before Claude can so much as open his mouth, Dimitri leans forward as well. "That is what _I_ said!" he exclaims, shaking his head. "Yet he said he had far too much work to do for him to skip a day simply because he was tugged around! He would not listen to me even a _little_."   
  
Uh oh. Eeeeeeuh oh! "Anyway!" Claude says hastily, before Lorenz can bond with a kindred spirit of fussing and bossing around. "That's basically all we need to know! Now let's have a great morning-"   
  
"Don't think you can keep them separate forever, Claude," Lysithea tries to say over his own words, looking incredibly smug and self satisfied.   
  
"-and make sure the day is a really nice and productive one-"   
  
"You're so doomed," Hilda says, looking as though her birthday has managed to defy time by coming early.   
  
"Do _not_ do anything too inappropriate with him here," Lorenz says, trying to out-loud him.   
  
"And I'll see you when we hit five!" Claude wishes that he could say _and just like that, everyone left my office_ , except it's never that easy. Marianne and Raphael still worry over him, and Lorenz is ten times worse. The only people who are any good would be Hilda and Lysithea, who at least stand _outside_ of his office as he does his best to get his friends the hell out of there. Yet, eventually, he manages to succeed, closing his door with a heaved out breath. Dryly, he glances back at Dimitri. "You know, as my bodyguard, I thought you were supposed to _help_ me regarding things like that."   
  
Dimitri merely smiles at him, reminding Claude more than a little bit of a guard dog that happily took treats from a burglar. "You seemed as though you were having fun," he says. "I wouldn't want to rob you of that."   
  
"I bet you wouldn't," Claude says, huffing and smiling despite himself. With a bit more peace and quiet back at his disposal, he returns to his desk and sinks down into his chair. "Anyway... I'm glad that they all bought that well enough. Maybe I should view that attack last night as a good thing, at least for the situation the two of us are in..."   
  
Frowning, Dimitri says, "It was _not_ a good thing. You are simply clever enough to turn bad moments around, I think."   
  
Well... Chuckling, Claude turns back to his computer. Dimitri honestly isn't wrong there. All his life, Claude has had to learn how to do that - turning bad moments into something he can use, something to his advantage. He's had to become opportunistic, scrapping up every little thing he could use. The siblings that came before him were all able to get first pick of various allegiances in family, or connections that various uncles or family friends on the Almyran side. They've always had more than him... and they were eager to take anything that might have been in his reach as well.   
  
Claude can't blame them for that. The vast majority of them want to become the Almyran king, and that means they have to do their absolute best. It's not something one can go after if they aren't prepared to be absolutely ruthless; Claude is doing a lot of the same after all. So he's had to become like this... No matter how much he might like the memories they all share of being in a kitchen, their father's booming voice sending them this way and that.   
  
Maybe when all of this is done with, even if the king has to legally cut himself away from family and the businesses he's done... They'll be able to return to all of that again. Or maybe not. The only way to find out is to finish all of this.  
  
He really _does_ have a lot to do, however. Since Dimitri seems fascinated enough with watching the world outside of the window, and look sharply towards the door anytime it even _seems_ as though there's a noise right outside of it, Claude leaves him to his own devices for the most part. Him, he goes over various plans that have been sketched up, checks in on how the weather is for Leonie and Ignatz's route back, answers emails from what seems like every single part of Golden Deer.   
  
"Your company seems rather powerful," Dimitri says when Claude is apparently taking a break - although it's really nothing more than him leaning back and stretching his arms up over his head. "We never went in depth on it, although I understood when you mentioned how powerful some of your enemies could be... But is that yet another reason why you did not call upon any city guard?"   
  
A huff of dry laughter escapes Claude. "Well... That certainly is one reason. Although you should know that Derdriu is actually putting more work into other things in this city than relying solely on, ha, city guards as dispensers of justice. This sort of thing is actually pretty rare... Someone just assaulting another person like that, while completely sober. It would be a lot more difficult to deal with... and it might blow up into something bigger than some two bit jackass is worth. Even if I took care of _that_ particular person, it wouldn't solve the core issue anyway."   
  
"I see... I suppose I should have had more faith in you."   
  
"You're a very upfront kind of person, so I don't blame you at all," Claude chuckles, and he starts to lean forward towards his computer again before he pauses. "Hey, are you really fine just standing around like that? Even _you_ must be getting pretty bored just looking outside all this time..."   
  
This time, it's Dimitri who grins. "While I may be ignorant on a great many things in this time, please put your faith in me when it comes to matters like this. There were many times in the past where I had to stand guard for hours on end, with only simple darkness and the moon to keep me company, or hold my interest. In comparison, watching how this Derdriu thrives with all of the things on the ground, and pegasi and wyverns swooping past such expansive towers... I'm enjoying myself quite a bit. Although if you have something you would like me to do, then I will gladly do it."   
  
"I was just thinking... Oh, right." Bending to the side, he starts pulling out some of his larger desk drawers, until he finds the one that he's looking for. From within, he pulls out a handheld black back, all zipped up. "Grab one of those chairs, and find a space on the desk to make some room. This is actually a really good time to get you familiar with some of the other technology we have here..."   
  
There's a beat of silence he almost doesn't pay attention to, preoccupied with getting the laptop out from its carrying case as it is. He only really notices when Dimitri breaks it, speaking up with a simple question: "Claude, where on earth could I make room?" And Claude looks up, taking in the stacks of paper in front of him, along with various boxes filled with USB sticks or other things, all the little office supplies like staplers and tape...   
  
....Huh. Was his desk always this crowded? Actually, when's the last time he could remember it being _clean_...   
  
A lot of things get put to the side, both literally and figuratively, instead of him doing what he wants to do with Dimitri. Claude knows where everything _is_ , of course. He's not a complete wreck. It's just, he supposes _because_ he knows where everything is that he hasn't really paid much mind to how it's all piled up... And he _does_ have to admit that it's handier to have his desk cleaned off, with more things easily accessible, than for him to have to dig through an entire ecosystem every time he wants to find a particular something.   
  
As a reward for all of his hard effort, Lysithea looks into his office and gives a sharp little bark of laughter. "So you were finally properly shamed into cleaning up, were you?"   
  
Claude looks up from where he's cleaning up a bunch of papers that him and Dimitri have been cleaning up, sorting them into things he needs to scan onto their drives and things they can shred and recycle. "Instead of cleanshaming me, you _could_ compliment me on how well all of this is looking," he tell them.   
  
"No," Lysithea says, flat out, before they give a slightly more friendlier smile, an honest little something after all the teasing (that he may or may not deserve). "Besides, if you want a reward, it's better that you take a lunch break. Raphael had Lorenz order some things to be delivered, and they just got here on wyvern."  
  
Of course it would have been on wyvern instead of by pegasi. Chuckling, Claude pushes himself up onto his feet and gathers some of the papers up so that he can put them in somewhere that's a little less out of the open. "Oh boy, I wonder what buffet he ordered for us all? Anyway, we'll meet you in one of the conference rooms, I imagine? Don't wait up for us - I'm sure that Raphael's stomach will be rumbling hard enough to constitute an earthquake soon enough." As Lysithea ducks out again, he smiles down to where Dimitri is still inspecting a paper for its worth. "Hey, there's a recycling bin for paper down the hall, near the elevators. How about you take all those over there for shredding, and then come back? I'll show you where the room we're eating at is."   
  
Dimitri nods, gathering a decently sized chunk of papers into his arms. "Of course. I will be back shortly. Although, can I ask what you do with papers once they are shredded...?"   
  
"All sorts of things," Claude hums, tidying up his desk. "Mostly made into new paper again, blank of everything that was on it before. Why toss away something you can use again, right?"   
  
He can tell by the light in Dimitri's eye that he likes that, and then his "bodyguard" is gone, carefully keeping a hold of every single paper, no matter how useless it is. He comes back quickly enough too, a corner of his lip a little more red than the rest from where he no doubt bit it.   
  
Claude has seen him do it before, over the past few hours that they've been cleaning up his desk. He's pretty sure it's Dimitri's way of trying to hold himself back, to do his very best not to be visibly amazed and thus be suspicious to anyone watching. It's... endearing, honestly, that he's trying so hard for him, when he could just live much less stressfully in Claude's apartment until this all becomes resolved.   
  
Instead, he sticks close by his side, truly faithful and determined to help as much as he possibly can, even if that is mostly limited to protecting Claude by standing around a lot. Claude shakes his head a little bit as the two of them walk through the halls of the building, passing through larger office spaces and different meeting rooms where people often duck into just for a little bit of solitude. "Just this way," he tells Dimitri, looking over his shoulder to find his time displaced knight in shining armor looking all around as he commits their route and the rooms they pass to memory.   
  
Golden Deer has a lot of people in it, filling up offices and constantly going out for parts of their job. However, Claude can't trust all of them, not completely, not down to the bone. Honestly, he can't trust a lot of people completely and intimately, even as much as he'd want to... It's just not possible in his situation, he's sure. Honestly, his talk with Dimitri the night before is the most honest and open about a lot of things in his life that he's ever been, now that he thinks about it.   
  
Still, if there's a group of people that he trusts the most in the entirety of Golden Deer, in the entirety of _Derdriu_ , it's the people waiting for him in the conference room he leads Dimitri to. There's already a bunch of seafood spread out on platters along the massive table insdie- sushi, he's delighted to see, plus various kinds of tempura. Hilda waggles a hand in greeting as the two of them step inside. "There you are! I was going to make a joke about you two, but then Lysithea said that Dimitri actually encouraged you to clean up the disaster that is your office, Claude!"   
  
"Is _everyone_ going to drag me for that?" he says, exaggerating his whine as Dimitri politely closes the door behind them. "If you guys all thought it was so bad, then you could have said something instead of gossiping!"   
  
"We _have_ said something," Lorenz remarks with a sigh, while Marianne hides her mouth behind one hand - no doubt a smile. Well, maybe his suffering is worth it a little if Marianne is smiling. "However, every time, you said that you would clean it after you just did this one more thing, or this other thing. Really, you do realize that when most people think about the leader of a company, they imagine an office put together neatly, don't you?"  
  
"Nope!" Claude answers cheerfully, flopping down into a chair besides Raphael. Dimitri takes the seat on the other side of him, and the two blonds exchange massive and bright smiles over his head. "Anyway, jeez, no wonder you guys needed a wyvern delivery. Did you order out the whole restaurant, or what? Did I miss someone's birthday?"   
  
He never misses any of their birthdays. Claude has made sure to remember those kinds of things, ever since he made the decision to make Golden Deer alongside all the people in the room with him now, save for Dimitri, and missing two others. Still, with that in mind... He has no idea _what_ it could be.   
  
Fortunately, with Raphael in the room, there's no need to worry about wondering too much. "Marianne suggested it!!" he says proudly, which earns a frantic blush and confused stare from the woman in question. She really should have known better than to assume that Raphael could keep quiet about something like this for very long. "She thought this would be the best way to help you feel more at ease after what happened last night - and to celebrate Dimitri being here, with you!"   
  
Now it's Dimitri's turn to blush, tucking back some of that pretty blond hair behind one ear. "I don't deserve such generosity for simply appearing," he says. "But I will not be so rude as to dismiss your efforts. Thank you very much."   
  
Across the table, Claude can see Lorenz almost nod to himself in satisfaction. In the whole building, no one is as fussy about manners and presentation than he is. Well, that will definitely make things easier... Out of everyone in the place, Lorenz is one of two that knows Golden Deer almost as much as Claude does, rivaled only by Hilda, although she does her absolute best to say she doesn't know a single thing ever. If anything happens to Claude... Well, he can be rest assured that Lorenz approves of Dimitri enough now that he'd absolutely help.   
  
Well, he'd probably have done that anyway, honestly, because Lorenz is a sucker for anyone in need, but it never hurts to have the scales tipped a little more in their favor for stuff like this.  
  
The conversation trails off a bit as everyone starts to help themselves to the food there, with a lot of arranging done to make sure that Raphael has a whole platter he can use for his own meal. Dimitri does his very best to not seem too ecstatic about this kind of food, but Hilda has a pretty good eye for this kind of thing. Popping some sashimi into her own mouth, she observes him for a second before smiling. "First time eating raw fish, huh?" she asks.   
  
In the back of his head, Claude _desperately_ hopes that his very intelligent friends manage to not pry apart their entire story within the space of an hour lunch break. There's no way that they're going to believe the _truth_ , but that doesn't leave him or Dimitri with very many other options if they realize that something really doesn't add up here. He has no idea if Dimitri understands the situation they're in, because he just smiles at Hilda in embarrassment. "Is it that obvious?"   
  
"Just a guess!" she says with a laugh. Claude keeps eating, because he doesn't want to look like he's _too_ desperately interested in this conversation. "You looked at everyone else first before you tried anything, so I figured you were figuring out the etiquette." She taps her lips with one finger and winks. "I've met a lot of people while eating sushi, so I have some experience~. You kept your cool pretty well despite that!"   
  
He dips his head down just a bit. "Thank you for the compliment," he says sincerely. "I really am not used to such fresh fish. I have had them cooked, but... nothing like this."   
  
"This is one of the _many_ benefits to a seaside city such as Derdriu," Lorenz says proudly, as though he built the place up from the base up all by himself. His city pride is so cute sometimes; Claude can only be thankful that Lorenz has never really gotten into sports and the like. "I believe there are hardly any better places in the entire world where one can have such diverse and delicious seafood. Although now that we are speaking about you, Dimitri, I am quite curious. Where are you from, and how did you meet Claude? Was it troublesome?"   
  
Claude snorts, picking up one of the more elaborate pieces of sushi. "I'm right here, Lorenz."   
  
"It was not troublesome at all," Dimitri promises, picking up a piece of sushi for himself like he's worried it's going to shatter inbetween his fingertips. He's gotten a little bit of everything, it seems. Claude wonders why, and if he'll change it up at all as the meal progresses. "I'm from further up north-" He doesn't list an exact city name. Claude is thankful; he's not sure which exactly would still match up inbetween the two time differences. "-and we met purely by chance, to be quite frank. We met... in one of the most beautiful places that I've ever seen."   
  
Had the greenhouse really won him over that much...? Well, his wording certainly seems to win most of his friend's over, save for Lysithea, who's more focused on cleaning their fingertips of sauce, and Raphael, who doesn't seem to care much that he has some on his own hands. "So Claude met someone on one of his business trips and kept him a secret all this time," Hilda says, sighing dramatically before she laughs. "Honestly, Claude, you're _ridiculous_."   
  
For a long time now, Claude has been grateful for his sneaky ways. He never could have imagined that he'd be grateful for it in _this_ kind of situation, however. Regardless, he grins and winks. "I hope you all don't plan on interrogating him too hard," he says, a sly little bit of truth placed onto the table. "I need to keep some mystery to my life."   
  
"You really don't," Lysithea says. "You're so dramatic."   
  
"That's the spice of life, you know."   
  
Even as he's bickering playfully with Lysithea, Claude keeps a close attention on how Lorenz is keeping up his side of the conversation with Dimitri. "Well, I'm pleased that it seems the two of you had a fine meeting, then. Now it's clear just why Claude has been actually taking so much time off for himself... The rumors he had started all on purpose had been becoming _horrendous_."   
  
"Really?" Dimitri looks like a disappointed golden retriever as he hears that news; all he needs are a pair of ears to lower. "I hope they were nothing serious... I would feel terrible if I did that to Claude."   
  
Good, this is his moment to step in, and Claude takes it gladly. "Don't mind Lorenz," he says casually, eyeing the tempura. So many delectable shapes... "He's more than a little dramatic himself, despite what everyone says about _me_ , and he pays more attention to rumors than anything else."   
  
Predictably, Lorenz bristles. "I simply know first hand how out of control rumors can get!"   
  
"Lorenz, all the worst rumors that you've ever experienced were usually your own fault.... Remember when we were in school, and you hit your insufferable flirt stage?"   
  
Just like that, he manages to redirect the conversation, keeping it focused on things of the past, funny stories that they can all have a hand in retelling one way or the other. It's a good way to keep things away from Dimitri, so that they don't have to offer up too many facts that might seem contradicting, or not match up with something else at a later date. An hour passes by them in the blink of an eye, and it's even easier than Claude thought it would be to step out with Dimitri, making an excuse that he wants to show him the garden up on top of the building.   
  
Well... He's already been up there, of course. That doesn't mean Claude still can't show it to him.   
  
"Your friends all seem incredibly kind," Dimitri says, once they're free of the stairwell, and out into the beautiful fresh air of the rooftop. "I was not sure of what I could expect, coming here with you, but I am glad that they all seem to be fantastic people. I am sure that when Leonie and Ignatz return, they will leave just as fine an impression."   
  
Hearing that kind of praise is enough to make Claude smile as he crouches down besides some of the Golden Deer's plants, checking the leaves. No pests, just ladybugs. He hopes the spiders aren't giving them too much trouble. Sure, there should be enough food for both of them... but you never know. "It's exactly as I told them," he tells Dimitri, pushing himself upright again. "I have impeccable taste. They all do their jobs really incredibly, although I guess you haven't gotten a chance to see that yet..."   
  
"I wasn't talking about that." Before Claude knows it, Dimitri is right besides him instead of trailing behind, and his fingers are right there at his own hand. "They're good friends, who care about you. Simply by watching how they surrounded you, and the things that they said, the stories you all shared with one another... I could tell that with but a glance. You're surrounded by a wonderful friendship, Claude."   
  
Somehow, he'd always sort of known that, of course. For people like Lysithea, and Hilda, and Raphael... All of them. He knows they're incredible people, and that he's lucky that they've all decided he's someone worth following, worth working under and alongside. That they laugh with him, and care for him, and that's more than he could ask for. But...   
  
Claude glances away, feeling a heat burning along his neck. "Jeez, you know, that's not really the kind of thing you say out loud," he says, trying to seem relaxed about it instead of, for some reason, _embarrassed_. Not wanting to linger on that for too long, he tilts his head towards- "There's the greenhouse. Let's see if prayer actually works."   
  
The weather is still as beautiful as can be expected from the day he and Dimitri first met, with sunlight filtering through the colored glass with nothing to obstruct it. It'll be nice if it stays that way; Claude would hate for this place to get dinged up if the weather took a turn for the worse. Exactly like on that day, the altars are all buried amongst their foliage in a way that's always seem calming, gentle, patient. He liked it, once upon a time. Now he just feels antsy.   
  
Worse, he's not really sure of what to do, and so he looks to Dimitri. "So," he says conversationally, "how do you pray to the saints?"   
  
Dimitri blinks at him. "...You don't know how to pray?"  
  
"I am relieved to say that religion is not a mandatory thing. At least, it can't be enforced by church or state." What a family might get up to is something that's a bit more complicated, and always will be. "So: care to show me how it goes?"   
  
"Well.... It is not complicated, fortunately." The two of them stop in front of the little area before the four altars, where the bench Claude laid on before getting a divine pain in the ass lies. "You merely clasps your hands, hold them before you in front of your chest, and.... pray." Dimitri's awkwardness couldn't be more clear. Claude wonders if it's because he's never been asked on how to _pray_ , or if this is awkward in some other way. "Most of the time, I was told that prayers were meant to stay inside of your mind and heart, not giving physicality in the form of the spoken word."   
  
Claude thinks of every movie or television show he's seen that is a lot more dramatic than this, from falling to one's knees in desperation or crying out at the saints for being unfair. How many traditionalists does that piss off, he wonders...? "Well, if that's what you say. I suppose we'll give this a go for... five minutes or so, and see where that takes us."   
  
Honestly, Claude doesn't plan on doing it even that long. A lot of people have prayed every day, and honestly he doesn't see what exactly that has to do with reaching any sort of divine entity, formerly human or otherwise, but it's really the only thing-   
  
"I'd prefer if you didn't." Both of them jolt out of their skins, and Claude doesn't even have time to take in those words properly before he suddenly being shoved backwards, and Dimitri is right there in front of him with his shoulders braced for a battle and the curve of his jaw set stubbornly in preparation for the worst. It lasts only for a second, this image, before he loses some of the tension in his body as the voice continues speaking. "It's alright, Dimitri."   
  
The voice is different, but Claude recognizes it all the same even before he peers around Dimitri to get a good look. The hair is also cut differently... but the person there is still the same, with that same cat-like stare which seems so focused and intense, roughly the same outfit, the same _feeling_. The same person. Or maybe not the same person at all. He can't quite explain the feeling in his chest.   
  
Of course this kind of run in would be strange, but Claude doubts any holy book could have described it like _this_. Regardless, he smiles over at the saint, because there's no reason to be unfriendly here. Every reason to be the opposite, as a matter of fact. "Well, thank you very much for making this all the easier for us then," he says casually, because, well. What else is he supposed to do? He's never been particularly religious... so it's not like he's ever read how a person should act in situations like these, if there's any tales at all.   
  
Although personally... He suspects that the ways that a religious figure might talk about aren't the kind of ways the person in front of him would prefer to deal with.   
  
Dimitri takes a moment or two longer to respond, and it occurs to Claude that he might not have seen any saint or god or anything in the event that forced him into another time. From what he had described, he had simply been caught up in a flash of light, of energy... and then here.   
  
Claude is about to take the lead, let Dimitri have the time to recover, before Dimitri bows his head politely to the saint. "...Thank you for the consideration," he murmurs, before he straightens up in a way that, while not _tense_ exactly, is undeniably stiff. It's the same posture he's used while acting as Claude's bodyguard.   
  
Hm. This really is a lot, Claude supposes. For the time being, he treats it like any other meeting with another person, because he's not sure of what else he can do. He smiles, stands besides Dimitri again, and gestures to some of the space on the little brick walls holding back some of the plants. "Can we take a seat? We just had a huuuuge lunch, and I think that would be better on our stomachs than standing around this whole time."   
  
"You can do whatever you like," the saint says. "I can't stop you."   
  
What an interesting to say, from any one of the four saints that interact so much with their plain ol' mortal earth. Well, Claude won't look that bit of generosity in the mouth. He promptly takes a seat, legs stretched out in front of him for comfort (and in case he needs to haul himself upwards, and fast). "Well, if you're here ahead of time, then I can only assume that you have an idea of what we want to ask, right?" he says, as Dimitri takes a seat besides him - inbetween Claude and where the saint sits.   
  
"I believe so. It has to do with Dimitri, doesn't it?" The saint nods to him. "Since you were tugged here rather suddenly..."   
  
Dimitri is still tense; Claude can practically feel it even if the two of them aren't touching. "Before, I was told that something was broken, and had to be fixed," Claude says, and has to fight against his own intense and innate curiosity. He wants to know _so_ badly just what it is that happened exactly, since Dimitri doesn't have a complete picture either... But that might be a bit too much for the time being. He should focus on the more practical matters, here. "Does that relate to how Dimitri is here in my time?"   
  
A simple nod. That stare really is too intense, and with no particular emotion to it, either. It kind of makes Claude want to start pacing, just to get the energy in him _out_. "Once we fix what was broken... You will return to your time, Dimitri. As though your existence was never displaced or bothered at all."   
  
That sort of thing seems as though it should be enough to make Dimitri's stiff body relax even a little bit. While Claude likes to think he's been a pretty great host, and that this time period has been a fascinating thing to experience for Dimitri, well... He's still far away from home, and during an important time period. For someone so caring like Dimitri, so honorbound... It must be terrible to experience.   
  
Yet that doesn't seem to do much at all, and Dimitri has to look away from the saint. "...Will everyone be alright when I return?" he asks quietly, and a little bit more makes sense for Claude. "I do not know what happened during that attack... If the energy affected them as well. And you..." But he trails off, hands curling into loose fists where he has his arms braced against his knees.   
  
The saint closes their eyes. "Those who you grew up with are fine," they say. "Those you met alongside your journey to get where you are fine. But your teacher..."  
  
Dimitri shakes his head, cutting them off. "I understand. I suppose... my luck simply destined me to this path. I... am sorry."   
  
There's definitely something going on here, something deeper than Claude had thought. Yet there's no real good way to break into this conversation, especially when the saint rises to their feet and lays a hand upon his head. "It's alright. There is no need to apologize." Dimitri keeps his head bowed, not daring to look up at them, and so the saint turns their attention to Claude instead. "You... were wondering how long he would have to stay here, weren't you? I don't know."   
  
....Okay, everything else can be put to the side, because now he has to focus on _that_. "Sorry, could you repeat that?" Claude says, in disbelief. "I thought as a saint, or, you know, an existence just chockful of divine energy, you'd actually have an answer."   
  
"I do not have an _exact_ answer," Byleth says, and Claude can feel some of his frantic alarm ease up at that. "We don't experience time like all of you do... So I can't say any of that for certain. But..." Crossing their arms, they curl one hand along their chin. "...At most, a year?"   
  
A year... That sounds like a long time, but Claude knows how quickly a year can pass by. Besides, that gives him a lot of time to make plans for how the two of them are going to live, and will seem natural when he "breaks up" with Dimitri so that he can go home without any troubles.   
  
"I think I can manage that," he says, and lightly nudges Dimitri in the side to get his attention. "But what about you, Dimitri? If you want, I can help get you somewhere a lot more remote so that you don't have to be so stressed. I can find a different bodyguard." There's only a few things worse, after all, than a person who doesn't want to do their job, forced to do it.   
  
Dimitri takes a deep breath, and shakes his head once more. "No. I could not do that," he says, rising to his feet. "I said that I would protect you from anyone that would cause you harm, and I intend to stay true to that. I am not the kind of coward that will turn his back away from someone who needs help." Turning to face Claude again, he sinks to one knee and takes one of Claude's hands. "As long as I am here in this place, in this time, then I will do all that I can to protect you, and make your life easier." Just like that, he presses his forehead to Claude's fingertips.   
  
Jeez. Claude can feel his heart threaten to leap out of his chest. He's dated plenty of people in his time, although they've never really lasted... and all that experience has not once prepared him for this kind of earnest chivalry, this need to keep him safe and stay true to a promise given. Words are just empty air disrupted by vibrations - he knows that. There's no reason to have any faith on a promise alone, not unless it's put down on something a little more solid. Yet with Dimitri...   
  
"Jeez." Claude finally gives a voice to at least some of his thoughts, chuckling. "You take things way too seriously. Still, if that's what will make you satisfied, then I can't really argue against that." Avoiding that serious and burning gaze, Claude looks back up at the saint. "While it's good to know that, a couple more questions, if you don't mind me going on about them..."   
  
The saint blinks at him blankly. "I don't think I could stop you if I wanted to."   
  
Alright, _that_ makes him laugh again, and he wraps his hand around Dimitri's more securely so that he can encouragingly tug Dimitri up to his feet. It's weird having someone kneel for him. "I'm glad that my personality is well known even among the divine!" he says cheerfully. "Anyway, my first question would be... How do we get a hold of you if we have any more questions? Us coming here to the greenhouse was mostly just guesswork and crossing our fingers. Should we always come here...?"  
  
"I can technically appear wherever I'm needed... just like the others." The saint tilts their head to the side consideringly. "But in order for things to be orderly... It would be best if you could come here in the event you truly need to speak with me, although I won't appear if there is someone besides the two of you..."  
  
"That works perfectly fine for me," Claude says, grinning even more. Honestly, it's perfect. That will be a good way to tell if they're being trailed, or if there's some sort of recording device attached to their person or in the greenhouse itself. Maybe he could even use this as a way to tell if he has something on him, or in his phone, or a laptop... Claude makes a note to test all of this out at a later date, saints literally willing. "Anyway, as for my second question.... What should we call you?"   
  
There are a lot of saints who have dedicated themselves to the Goddess that a lot of the churches in Fodlan worship, although from the Almyran lens, they would simply be just minor deities in their own right. Yet, from what Claude understands of the religion, most of the saints don't interact very heavily with the mortal earth, or its inhabitants. They're responsible for a great many things, sure, and they deserve respect, he's fine with that... But they're very hands off.   
  
There are four particular saints, however, who have actual tales of them constantly getting involved with their mortal companions, reaching out a hand in times of great need. Apparently there's something in the books about how they are eternally being born and dying on earth, those four, and a shared true name... but Claude has never really gotten to know that particular part of the books. Mostly, he's just interested in knowing which of those saints he's speaking with.   
  
Considering the project he's working on right now, well, there's one answer that seems very fitting... But, instead, the saint looks to him and simply says, "Azure Moon."   
  
The saint of the azure moon... Saint of people lost, people with the world against them, patron saint of protectors and the mentally ill and struggle. A saint that makes Dimitri's eye close, as though remembering something painful.   
  
Well. At least they know the name of this one, and the other one already said they were 'of the wind'. Claude merely smiles, and nods. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Azure Moon. I can't think of anything else yet-" Not without possibly pushing a little bit too much too soon. "-but I'll look forward to seeing you again."  
  
The saint of azure moon nods to them, a sort of polite bow similar to what Dimitri so often does. And then, just like that, they're gone. Without him noticing, the greenhouse had shifted into that strange off-balance state, and now, with Azure Moon gone, it's just.. normal. The same greenhouse he's stepped into dozens of times before.   
  
"Well," Claude says, as Dimitri looks over to the spot where Azure Moon was standing only a second ago. "I guess that settles that. Need another moment before heading downstairs?"   
  
Dimitri stares a moment longer, and then lets out a breath. "No. I believe we've gotten all the answers we could ask for."   
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
When they arrive at his apartment again, a good solid day of work done, Dimitri insists on learning how to use the kitchen more so that he can make dinner for them. Well, what is Claude supposed to do? Argue with the guy taller than him who's used to hauling himself around in plate armor? Besides... In Claude's honest opinion, it feels as though allowing Dimitri to do something is for the best.   
  
They're in the middle of preparing some vegetables - just onions and cabbage, something Dimitri is more familiar with than all the spices from other places or that have come about thanks to modern innovations. As Claude swipes off the juice from a blade, Dimitri lets out a breath. "One of my friends back home.. She really loves all sorts of foods. I think... This city, Derdriu, would be like a dream come true for her."   
  
Ah. Yeah. Claude had figured... it had been something like that. Turning back to the fridge, he pulls out the chicken breast they had gotten. "Yeah?" he asks lightly, not minding how close Dimitri is while he takes care of the thin plastic wrapping. There's not really much room in the kitchen, after all, so there's no point in complaining. He doesn't want to, anyway. "Does she enjoy a lot of food in Faerghus?"   
  
"She's always enjoyed food no matter where we've gone." Dimitri smiles slightly just recounting it, even as he takes the unwrapped chicken from him so that Claude can start preparing the rice. "Granted, we never really went to many places... But we knew people from other countries, here in Fodlan, and could sometimes try out food they cooked. No matter what it was, she was always so grateful to have a taste of it.. Being with her made eating feel like something special, instead of simply something that I had to do in order to survive."   
  
When he talks about her like that... Claude pours two cups of water into the pot alongside the rice, thinking of another person who seems to match that description. "It seems like she would really like Raphael, then," Claude says, chuckling. "He always love food as well... Especially any kind of meat, of course, although he's definitely gotten really into the vegan options so that he can introduce all sorts of fun new foods to his sister. Did your friend used to do the same things?"   
  
"She did." When Claude glances over his shoulder at Dimitri, the blond has a bittersweet sort of smile on his face... but a little more sweet than bitter. At least, that's what Claude is hoping for. "She was always fussing over the rest of us... More two of our other friends, than anyone else. They were always such troublemakers..."   
  
"Every friends group has one." Claude chuckles, grabbing a saute pan and heating it up. "I think you know which side of that line I fall on, after talking to my friends."   
  
There. Definitely sweet, now. Amused, too. "And yet they all still trust you when it comes to running your business," Dimitri says. Is it just Claude, or does he sound almost like he's admiring him? A new experience, certainly... People like him, but admiration? It feels like he's always struggled to get it. "I wonder if you would have gotten along with one of my other friends..."   
  
"What was he like?"   
  
"Honestly, very much like you, but it always felt like he was trying to dodge the label of being a reliable person..." And they keep going on like that. Dimitri talks to him about his friends from childhood, from the woman who wanted her name to go down in history books as heroic, to the hopeless flirt that Dimitri nonetheless looked to when things went bad, to his best friend with a prickly temper whose bleeding heart meant he'd never back down from protecting innocent people no matter anything else.  
  
Dimitri loves them deeply; Claude only needs to listen to understand that much. He loves them so much that, in the middle of cooking the eggs that will go with their chicken, he has to make an excuse for himself so that he can duck into the bathroom. Claude doesn't stop him. He pretends not to listen to the noises that come out of the bathroom, and doesn't think too hard on them. He just waits, until Dimitri is back out again, and helping him add the eggs into all the cabbage they've shredded.   
  
Even if Claude is willing to do all of this, however, Dimitri doesn't seem quite so satisfied, as evidenced by the way he speaks up. "I do appreciate everything you've done. All of your friends are good as well, and I am quite fortunate that I have gotten a glimpse of such a prosperous future."   
  
"You don't have to thank me for anything, just like you don't have to apologize," Claude says mildly. "Honestly, I'm just relieved that you haven't thought of me as a complete jackass because I've been too nosy or said something careless."  
  
Dimitri actually chuckles a bit as the two of them mix all the proper ingredients together. "I am hard pressed to imagine you being careless... It feels like you've been so generous and caring with me."   
  
"Then I think that means I've managed to grow, or something." Claude grabs some soy sauce, sprinkling it amongst the mixture while Dimitri continues to cook it. "For example... I really want to ask why you reacted like you did in the face of the saint of the azure moon."   
  
Dimitri pauses in cooking, but only for a moment - the sound of food sizzling and cooking isn't something that can be ignored, and his attention is grabbed by it quickly once again. "I do not want to sound as though I am making things up, or being dramatic," Dimitri says, eyes focused on the task he has ahead of him. Claude wonders if he, too, looks for things to occupy his attention when he doesn't want to be too open. It must be hard, for a guy like him who wears his heart on his sleeve. "However.... they resemble my mentor, the one who was traveling with the rest of us on our pilgrimage."   
  
Yeah, Claude can recall Dimitri mentioning that kind of person, days ago, when he had first explained to Claude just what he was doing, and what he could remember... Well. If that mentor of his resembles Azure Moon, then Claude suspects he knows exactly what their fate was. And if he suspects, then he's positive that Dimitri is absolutely certain in what had happened.   
  
There's no point in bringing it up more, and rubbing salt in the wound. Instead, Claude tries to go for something else. "Did they teach you how to fight, then?"   
  
Leaning in to check on the condition of the food, Dimitri shakes his head. "I was taught how to fight long before I ever met them, and it was something that I'd long been practicing with extreme diligence. It's something that's always been expected, back in Faerghus - although I suppose that's changed now with how long has passed. I wonder what they do there, now...? Well, assuming there is still a sense of identity in regards to Faerghus..."   
  
"There is," Claude chuckles, grabbing plates for the two of them. "No matter how much time has passed, and how united Fodlan may become against or towards a certain thing, there's still a strong sense of identity in a lot of places. I suppose nowadays it's more towards someone's hometown than necessarily which part of Fodlan they live in... But that still exists to a degree as well. The good news is that it's mostly in regards to a lot of dumb things - claiming a famous wyvern racer as 'theirs', or people getting worked up about sports." Claude grins as he holds out one plate. "What a great period of time that we can live in where a lot of people's concerns are more about who will win at football next instead of wondering if their neighbors will attack them with weapons."   
  
It's all the right combination of words, enough to make Dimitri start smiling a little more warmly as he begins to dump the rice and chicken onto the plate. "Yes... I believe, when I finally return, that will help to keep me going despite all the tension and fear that was so prevalent. I need only think of this... and I will know it is all worth it."   
  
Dinner is honestly a pretty pleasant affair in the end, even despite what has happened and the revelations they've gotten from an actual divine saint. Claude turns on the television simply out of habit, always wanting noise to keep his ever occupied mind satisfied without silence to haunt it, but he hardly even needs whatever show pops up. Instead, him and Dimitri sit at the table, and just... talk.   
  
They talk about how Fodlan is now, what kind of sports are popular nowadays, what holidays have still survived after all this time and what new ones have sprung up as the years have passed. Claude may have grown up in Almyra for the most part, although he's been told that he was a baby in Fodlan... but he's come to love this country, too. He's more than happy to extol its virtues, its passions.   
  
In turn, Dimitri is more than happy to listen about them as he finishes off his dinner in no time. He even insists upon doing the dishes for Claude, although the chore takes ages because of how gentle and careful Dimitri is with even the forks. While he takes care with that - not wasting even a drop of water - Claude drags out his laptop and begins working on it. It feels as if he should be bothered by the gentle clinking of Dimitri washing the dishes behind him, or how the television is set on a channel he's never much cared to watch before... But he's not.   
  
If anything, there's a kind of... comfort to the steady background noise, and Dimitri's presence settling along his shoulders like any one of the many blankets he grabs in the winter months. Somehow, there's almost a sense of - familiarity to it. Just doing his own thing, while, at the same time, his life happens around him, waits to swirl him back into its action...   
  
Dimitri settles down besides him on the couch, trying his very best to manage some sort of decent middle between looking over Claude's shoulder while still having a gentleman's distance away from him. "You were working on a variant of that before, at Golden Deer, weren't you?" he asks.   
  
"That's right." Claude adjusts the laptop where it's balancing on his legs, so that Dimitri has a better view of the screen. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't be so open, but, well, it's not as though Dimitri can understand a whole lot of things on his computer anyway. He doesn't even know what to call this little technological marvel. "It's called a computer in general, although the kind you can carry around with you like this are called laptops. Basically..." Claude grins. "It's a portal to everywhere in the world all at once."   
  
A blink. A squint. Even though Claude has the immense suspicion that Dimitri would never utter a single curseword for fear of sullying an innocent person's ears, he can almost _read_ the confused What The Fuck energy on his face. "That sounds," he says slowly, "like an exaggeration."   
  
"It's not literal, but it's certainly true on the knowledge scale," Claude says with a wink. "It's like having a library and a theater and a television all in one, and a lot more besides that. Honestly, I was going to show you how to use it back at Golden Deer, because I thought it would be able to keep you a lot more entertained while I was busy working."   
  
"I was working as well," Dimitri protests, frowning. Well, that is true, but...  
  
Tucking away all of his current windows and tabs so that Dimitri can't accidentally mess with them, Claude pulls up a whole new fresh slate. A new browser entirely, as a matter of fact. "This is also going to be a form of your work," he tells Dimitri, gesturing for the blond to sit just a little closer. It's better if he gets a good look at everything that Claude is doing, after all. "Today's lunch went pretty well, since I was able to control the conversation and turn it back onto all of us, but eventually my friends, or just the average person, are going to start asking you questions. Depending on the question, it might not be too bad if you don't know the answer... but others would definitely be odd for you to say nothing or claim ignorance about."   
  
"Computers are one of those things?"   
  
"Definitely." Claude brings up two different tabs before he sets the laptop onto the coffee table and starts to dig through his pack again until he can bring out the wireless mouse. This should help at least a little bit... A touchpad is a lot more intuitive, so it's better to start with something that isn't as much. "Not to mention, while I'm busy, you can start familiarizing yourself with this time period, and have a better idea of what things to say and what things not to say, or look up different things. You'll have a library at your fingertips, and be good to go."   
  
Honestly, he should have had Dimitri doing this ages ago, but they were just caught up too much in all the basic mundane details which are necessary to live. Dimitri falling sick twice in one week also didn't help, either. Hopefully, with this... Well, with this, they should be able to cover their tracks a little more.   
  
Claude quickly begins to flick through Ecosia's search system, trying to see if there's something exactly for what he needs. It doesn't take long until he's found exactly what he's looking for, and he goes to- "What I'm doing right now, by clicking on that little blank square up top, is opening another tab," he explains to Dimitri, whose shoulder is brushing against his. He's quite warm. "Think of it like opening another book, side by side to the one you're reading."   
  
Claude likes to think it's a rather slick comparison, honestly, and he's rewarded with the way Dimitri nods. "I see. What tab are you opening now, then?"   
  
"I'm going to make you an email address." Okay, how to explain that... Claude considers this as he starts filling in Dimitri's basic information - name and all that. "Basically.... Think of it as a non-physical home, or a place where you'd get letters delivered to you. On the internet, it's one of those things that helps confirm you're a real person using a computer, instead of something fake." He sizes up Dimitri. "How old are you, anyway? I could make a guess, but I don't want to be wrong."   
  
"I am twenty three years of age... Although, once winter comes, I will be twenty-four." While Claude fills that in, Dimitri waits a moment before he speaks up again. "Is... the internet something different than a computer?"   
  
...Okay. So. He has a few more things he's going to really have to explain to Dimitri. This may take longer than he had thought. Maybe it's a good thing that he ended up doing this back in his apartment instead of at work...   
  
Throughout the rest of the night, as a show about some sort of vet's office plays, Claude takes the time to explain a lot of things to Dimitri. He covers the difference between a computer and internet access, and how sometimes the internet is a library and sometimes more like listening to gossip in a club where everyone wears a mask. He talks about how some places on the internet are relaxed, so people's aliases can absolutely be "BlueDick420" depending on where you are, while others are verified as real people with real professional names and an actual professional occupation whose words you can... roughly trust.   
  
For someone who seems so open and honest, who followed Claude without what feels like a second thought, he _especially_ takes care to have Dimitri learn about fact checking, because he is not going to have Dimitri go around thinking that the world is flat. When he tells Dimitri this upfront, Dimitri wrinkles his nose at him and raises an eyebrow. " _Everyone_ knows the world is not flat," he says, incredulous, and Claude isn't entirely sure if it's relief or exhaustion to know that even a guy from the middle ages has enough sense in him to know that the world has a round shape. "Wait... Claude? Are you saying that there are people who believe the world is flat?"   
  
So. That is another really fun conversation they get to have.   
  
Before Claude knows it, hours have passed by the time that he checks the clock, and he has Dimitri stop what he's doing by poking keys on the keyboard. "Hey, it's gotten pretty late," he says, exiting out of the various windows and tabs he'd pulled up. How did they wander towards the subject of spam mail and its purpose? He almost can't remember. "Let's go to sleep and then, when we get to work tomorrow, I'll show you some of the other things that I _meant_ for you to start doing."  
  
But jeez. It really is stupidly late, and he would know, being the kind of guy who's worked stupidly late before. After tucking all of his stuff back into the bag, he pushes himself up with a yawn that shakes him right down to his toes. He wobbles a moment, leaning a little too far left, and reaches out correct himself.   
  
He doesn't get a chance. Dimitri's arm wraps around him before he can go too far, or before his legs might buckle. Blinking, Claude can't even protest as he's hauled up flush against the other man. "You should have said something earlier," Dimitri scolds lightly, gently setting him back down against the ground so easily. It's unbelievable how he can just - move him around like he weighs nothing. "Go to bed. You have so much to do tomorrow. I can manage well enough on my own in cleaning up anything else left out here."   
  
"Did you fuss like this back in Faerghus?" Claude asks in amusement, rubbing at his eyes. Still, well. If Dimitri says he can clean up around here, there's no reason for Claude to disbelieve him. After all, he's managed to exist in Claude's apartment all on his own just fine enough. If he can survive a day, he can survive the fifteen minutes it'll take for him to get everything ready for sleep. "Anyway, have a good night, alright, Dimitri?"   
  
Letting him go so that he can take care of the last bits of bathroom business for a night, Dimitri smiles at him. "Have a good night, Claude. Sleep well, and have pleasant dreams."   
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
When Claude yawns for the fifth time in an hour, Hilda laughs quietly. "Did you not get enough coffee this morning?" she asks, looking away from the reports she's showing him on her own computer.   
  
"What do you think I have in my hand right here?" Claude asks dryly, waggling his thermos a little bit. "I'm not drinking a sleep serum, or something." He yawns again; it's really starting to bug him now. "Mm, I was just kept up all night..."  
  
Hilda's eyes sparkle. "As long as you don't stay up until daylight," she teases, and then they get back to work. It doesn't really hit him how she could misconstrue a simple innocent statement like that until he steps away from her desk and returns to Dimitri's side, who's been standing diligent and vigilant all this time waiting for him to finish.   
  
Pausing for just a moment, Claude stops any groan he'd want to make with a sip from his thermos, and lets Dimitri escort him back down the hall, to his own office. Well, he supposes that _also_ works out, honestly, if Dimitri has already said that he's his boyfriend, and Claude is running with it... Sure. He'll let Hilda and anyone else think what they like if they think that Dimitri is the one responsible for keeping him up all night. It's not even technically wrong. It's just not right in the way they're thinking of it.  
  
As the two of them settle back into his office, Claude glances over to where Dimitri has sat down. "So, think you'll be able to keep yourself occupied for the rest of the morning?" he asks, smiling.   
  
The first thing he did when he came in was set up a typing practice program for Dimitri, and show him how to use sites like Ecosia search to look up anything he's ever interested in. After all, the reason he was kept up so much last night was because he was teaching Dimitri how to use the computer and the internet. This much shouldn't be hard at all, considering how Dimitri has been paying such close and obedient attention to him.   
  
"I believe I should be fine," Dimitri tells him with a smile, so delicate with how he places his hands upon the keyboard, exactly as the website has been instructing him. It was made in mind for kids, with lots of fun graphics. Dimitri doesn't seem to mind them at all. "This is a bit outside of my wheelhouse... but I'm eager to understand more about this world indepth, and this is the first step towards that. Please, do not worry about me, and continue on with your work. I will take care of this, and keep an eye out for things as well."   
  
Well, if that's what Dimitri says, that's what he says, and Claude doesn't mind believing him for something like this. He goes back to everything else he has to do, emails and equipment orders, coordinating with other companies for this and that. Dimitri, true to his word, keeps himself busy, and only stops his occupation with the typing program when he hears a noise or pauses to take in the scenery outside. Claude can't blame him for that last part; he used to do the same a lot himself. That was before everything kicked off, of course, and he had to devote himself entirely to Project Verdant Wind.   
  
Around lunch is when they get a slightly expected knock on the door, right as Dimitri is shutting the laptop, and Claude smiles. "No need to hang around outside!" he calls, and gets up to greet Leonie and Ignatz with a wave as the two of them step inside. "Good to see you two again. How was the trip out there? Did the wyverns you rent give you any trouble?"   
  
"They were wonderful, Claude." Ignatz smiles at him, adjusting the messenger bag he has slung over his shoulder. "You still have a wonderful knack for picking out wyverns. They were perfectly fine with Leonie and I as we scouted out the different mines."   
  
Claude nods in satisfaction. Good. That's exactly the kind of thing he wants to hear. Needless to say, the smoother things go, no matter how small, the better for all of them. Especially better for this project, which is important to him in numerous ways, and not just in regards to what's going on in Almyra. "Glad to hear it. I hope you guys weren't expecting to drop a report or anything right in front of me when it's almost lunch, 'tho. Did you two have anything planned?"   
  
"We were just going to grab something really quickly, honestly," Leonie says with a relaxed smile. Yeah, that does sound like her... Someone who grabs something quick because she has so much on her own plate. Claude thinks he's the only person with that same habit, but worse compared to Leonie. "Are you sure we wouldn't be intruding? I heard you had someone special with you." And she flashes a grin towards Dimitri.   
  
Dimitri smiles back, and waits for Claude to move around the desk before he steps forward himself with his hand outstretched. "Please don't pay my presence here any mind," he says, giving Leonie a firm shake and then offering his hand to Ignatz as well. "You two are important friends to Claude, and I'm sure he's been wanting to see you a great deal after how long you've been away."   
  
Sweet talker, seriously. Claude has a sneaking suspicion that, if they were totally normal people not caught up in some sort of bizarre time displacement caused by divine interference, Dimitri would outright step away so that Claude could spend time together with Leonie and Ignatz.   
  
As it is, well, they really do need to stick together. So Claude comes to a stop at Dimitri's side, grinning as well. "He's right. Just because he's here doesn't mean I'm going to leave you two in the cold. Should we go out to eat? It might make our lunch a little long, but hey, if you've just gotten back, why not make it a little long? I can introduce you to Dimitri properly."   
  
And that's it. Their lunch plans are decided. As the four of them wave at some of their coworkers who've opted to eat at their desks, and pile into the elevator for the ground floor, Dimitri leans down to whisper into Claude's ear. "Do you normally eat with everyone like this?"   
  
Claude grins at him over his shoulder. "A lot of special occasions have happened recently," he says.   
  
Of course, Leonie won't let him escape with just that as she leans forward with a spark in her eye. "Don't listen to him," she tells Dimitri. "He's the kind of guy who very eagerly looks for all sorts of reasons to have the company celebrate. Any big break through calls for it, in his opinion. I used to wonder if it was Almyran culture-"   
  
"It's definitely Almyran culture," Claude tries to say, and very generously ignores the way Ignatz turns his head and laughs quietly into his hand.   
  
"-but it's Claude over anything else," Leonie finishes, flashing a smile at him. All he can do is huff out a laugh in response. "You just like anything that brings people together."   
  
Dimitri is smiling too, because Claude is pretty sure he's a sap like that. "Is that a bad thing?" the blond asks. "I think it's a rather lovely trait."   
  
The glance that Leonie sends at Claude is knowing, and all he does is raise his eyebrows innocently, as though he has no idea what she's talking about. Of course, when he tries little things like that, no one believes him all the more, but that's fine. "Well, it's not a bad one," Leonie agrees, smiling to Dimitri as the elevator hits the ground floor. "If he wasn't that kind of person, then a lot of us wouldn't work here."   
  
"Note to self," Claude muses aloud as the four of them exit the Golden Deer building, "bribe employees more often with food, as that is the key to their loyalty..." He gets laughter for the commentary, and he joins in after a second.   
  
The restaurant they end up going to isn't that from Golden Deer - A Dagdan fusion kind of place with plenty of delicious rice and noodle dishes. Dimitri is clearly unfamiliar with a lot of it, at least to Claude's trained eyes, but he hides it well. Instead of outright asking what the various foods are, he asks for _recommendations_ \- if Leonie has tried this food before, and what kind of food Ignatz likes best. Little subtle things like that, where it's as if he's going more for an opinion than an answer. Claude can't lie, it's pretty smooth.   
  
Leonie ends up going for some ramen with some vegetarian meat substitute, just for the hell of it, while Ignatz leans more towards some crispy tofu. Never one to be a coward or shy away from fascinatingly named foods, Claude goes for something called a _Dagdan Curry Burger Bowl_ , to the point that Dimitri's order of a chirashi bowl looks rather plain. "You should have gone for what I did," Claude teases as they all try out for some tempura, save for Leonie, who's working on her soup.   
  
"I liked the sushi from yesterday," Dimitri says, smiling a little. "I don't think that's a crime - and this type seems even different from yesterday, which was so much more neat. Anyway, you simply like adventure, don't you?"   
  
"What, now you're turning on me too?"   
  
"I am simply saying that I recognized a great many things we got when we went shopping," Dimitri says simply, "and then there were a great many things that seem _ill-advised_." Leonie almost snorts soup up her nose.   
  
"Incredible," Claude says, even as he can't stop grinning. "Unbelievable. You're really coming after me like this? After how much I've spoiled you? How I've taken care of you when you've been sick? I'm astounded."   
  
"Because you have taken care of me so well, that is why I did not object when you bought them," Dimitri says, and it's a good thing Leonie was already cleaning up her person, because that definitely makes her start laughing again.  
  
Jeez.... Claude starts laughing too, and something inside of his chest begins to ease up. Dimitri fusses over him so much, honestly, and is so devoted, that Claude had been waiting for it to inevitably become stifling. People like Lorenz are fine, at a distance, but when it comes to someone he's actually living with.... Well. He's glad.   
  
Inevitably, their conversation turns to the food, the menu, the restaurant, what kind of places Ignatz and Leonie ate at while they were away on their trip. It's a nice and solid conversation, one that Claude doesn't have to stress too much about.   
  
He wouldn't say that Ignatz or Leonie are stupid, because there are no truly stupid people in his Golden Deer - they're specialized if they're anything. He says that for Raphael too, who he knows gets looked down on for being such a big ol' guy in an office setting who doesn't act it. But when it comes to sniffing out secrets or how something said might be a little off... Hilda, Lorenz, and Lysithea are really way too good at it.   
  
It's nice to have a comfortable conversation about food and nothing else, no need to worry about it. Eventually, after their food comes, Ignatz looks over to Claude. "I've arranged some contacts with different people, to get a better look at those mines... but I know that you're sometimes not satisfied with just relying on what other people say, when it comes to something as important as this. Do you plan on going out this time as well, Claude?"   
  
Yeah, this was going to get brought up again... Claude smiles. "Is there a reason that I shouldn't?" he asks.   
  
"Lorenz said you were attacked only a couple of days ago," Ignatz points out. Well. Trust Lorenz to immediately fill Ignatz in on everything... That's just to be expected, Claude supposes. After all, Ignatz was going to be by his side, back at the Gloucester's company that's been with them for generations, before Lorenz left for Golden Deer. If Lorenz knows something, then Ignatz is told it right away. "I'm just worried that, if you're going off, you'll get hurt..."   
  
Reaching over, Claude lightly taps Dimitri's chest with the back of his knuckles, right as the man is in the middle of another forkful. "Hey, that's why I have this guy around, right?" he asks, winking at his two coworkers. "I'll be fine. What's more important is going over all the data that you guys gathered and making a choice of where I'm going in the first place. We can save that for tomorrow, however. A lot more work has piled up on your desks in the time that you've been gone, even outside of this."   
  
Ignatz and Leonie accept that, at least for the time being while they're having lunch in a restaurant. There really _is_ a lot of work that they all have stacked on their plates, moreso than any food they eat. Yet there's one person who doesn't have nearly as much before him, at least not in a way he can work on, and he's also someone who isn't afraid to ask questions when the two of them are behind closed doors.   
  
"What is Project Verdant Wind?" Dimitri asks, even before the two of them have gotten close to Claude's desk. "It has been mentioned a couple of times now, amongst all of your companions... but I suspect it has little to do with the saint whose name it invokes."   
  
Plopping down into his seat, Claude considers him. "I was wondering when I should even try to bring it up with you, but I guess when you're asking about it is as good a time as any," he says. "Well, take a seat. You remember how I said that most of my siblings were able to get help from my father's side of the family as they began to take part in the whole... competition for becoming royalty thing, right?"   
  
Dimitri nods. "You mentioned some frustration," he says. Claude is pretty sure he didn't, and that it's just Dimitri reading into things... or maybe him. Who knows. It's not really important, right now.   
  
Shrugging, Claude continues. "Well, while that's cut me off from a lot of Almyran resources, I do have something that's entirely my own and which my siblings didn't really think to touch at all. All of them were from my father's previous marriage. Out of all of us, I'm the only one who has a solid blood connection to my mother's side of things..."   
  
"A powerful group of business people in their own right."   
  
"Correct." Claude smiles. "For a long time now, they've been pioneering a lot of alternative energy technology, or ideas - an ancestor of mine is apparently down in the history books for getting wind energy pretty popular further inland. It was that side of my family that apparently helped some of the tide-based energy companies get started here. Things like that. So, without anyone in Almyra to help me... I reached out through my mother, and managed to find some things here that I could get started with. However, Golden Deer wasn't founded just to get me nominated as the king of Almyra. It's something of an... investment, by my mother's side of the family."   
  
All this time, Dimitri has been listening carefully to him without any judgment, only simple attentiveness. That last sentence, however, makes him frown. "An _investment_?"   
  
It's the kind of thing that wouldn't be thought of in a normal family. Unfortunately for Claude, no matter where he's turned, he's never had a chance for anything _normal_. All he can do is shrug. "My grandfather on _that_ side was never really all that encouraging of who my mother decided to date. The prejudices you might know of from your time aren't really a thing anymore, but some really traditional old folks, who learned from the old traditionalists of _their_ time, get a little antsy. And it didn't help that my father was royalty... So my grandfather was worried, and I think he worried I would be more my father's child than my mother's.  
  
"So when I reached out for some help in regards to getting something underneath my feet in order to compete alongside my siblings, well, let's just say that he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it, and wanted some reassurance at the same time. If I can do some work with Golden Deer that's really outstanding, then not only will that win me the crown in Almyra, but it'll have me welcomed on my mother's side of the family as I associate all that credit with them."   
  
It's not really something he's expecting to reassure Dimitri, honestly, and the way the blond continues frowning kind of proves him right. "That... makes it seem as if you have no one in your family who will stand by your side simply because it is you, and you deserve that."   
  
What a sweet life Dimitri has to have lived, that he thinks that sort of thing is a given. Claude just smiles without any particular joy or pleasantness at his computer as he wakes it up again. "Well, these things happen," he says, because there's really nothing else he can say. "Anyway, that's all just a lot of backstory to let you understand _why_ I'm doing what I'm doing, which is finding more ways to add to that very green image."   
  
"No wonder you named the company Golden Deer, or have called that project Verdant Wind," Dimitri mutters. So even though he's from Faerghus, he still understands old Leicester legends. Claude smiles.   
  
"Right. As of current, we have a few different avenues that we're going down, all of them interlocking and meant to help the other... but the main thing, what's really behind Verdant Wind, is finding a way to deal with food shortages in various areas throughout Fodlan." Flicking open a map on his computer screen, Claude cleans back with his hand curving along one cheek. "While the world has really managed to change after all these years... The land is a little bit harder to change. Not unless you want to completely wreck certain ecosystems for humanity's own selfish needs. Certain areas in Fodlan have always had difficulty growing crops. So, well, simply put... the primary goal of Verdant Wind is to help with that food problem."  
  
What he _really_ wants to do, honestly, is boast about how his people have come up with so many ways to make this all happen, and he's certain, initially, that Dimitri will ask him how he plans to do that... Except, after a moment's thought, Dimitri looks up to him with sudden understanding. "I see. No wonder you have so many enemies, then. In places where food is hard to come by naturally, merchants often take their profits from raising the costs of what they bring..."   
  
Best as he can, Claude tries to keep his smile relaxed, calm, and not as bitter and sharp as he wants it to be. "You're right on the nose there... There's a program in place that makes sure that no one starves, but it's still a strain on finances that a _lot_ of people would like to take advantage of, even if that means taking advantage of some of the people who have the least to give in the first place. If I can help solve something like that..."   
  
"That's it? I was expecting something almost... flashier."   
  
That has Claude laugh. "Well, there's definitely a lot of things on the way there which will help it stand out!" he says. "But sometimes the things that are flashy and mean a lot to people like my father aren't the typical idea of flashy. While there's a lot I could say on things that have happened in the past that have brought the crown onto some people's heads, some of them might seem surprising to you." He grins. "If I can make Verdant Wind successful to the degree that I want it to be, then I know that it will get my father's attention. He understands what it means to help that many people out."   
  
It's one of the things he genuinely likes about his father. In some aspects, the relationship between them is awkward, strained - but Claude suspects that's how it is for their family as a whole. Yet when it comes to guiding people, looking after them... He really puts that as a high priority, and does his best, whatever that may mean, and to the best of his capabilities.   
  
Dimitri takes this in and, thankfully, doesn't push too much on the matter of Claude's family. He knows that it doesn't sound like anything particularly great, and even some of his friends aren't pleased about the situation... But it's something he prefers to deal with himself. At least for right now, he wants to deal with it himself, to the best of his _own_ capabilities.   
  
Instead, Dimitri lets out a breath. "...I'm glad to hear that, then," he says at last. "So I take it, then, from your discussion at lunch, that you plan on visiting some of those areas you've just mentioned so that you can find the perfect area to start this project of yours?"   
  
"Ideally, it would be just one or two," Claude says, scanning over some of the pictures that Ignatz so expertly took during his trip. "If everything goes well, that's all that I'll have to deal with. But for this kind of business, having back up plans is always the wisest course of action... so I'm honestly prepared for just about anything to happen, even if that means having to look over every single spot that Ignatz and Leonie scouted out for me."   
  
Nodding, Dimitri rises up to his feet again. "I see. Then, in that case..." Dimitri steps forward, and lightly lifts Claude's hand from the mouse. It makes him start a bit, staring up with a bewildered expression at the blond, but Dimitri doesn't even look at the face he's making. He's much more preoccupied with lifting Claude's fingers to his lips, head bowed. "As long as I can be here, I will protect you no matter where you go."   
  
Claude wants to say so much in the face of that. He wants to ask Dimitri if he really understands what he's saying, and talk with him about if he can say that so easily to a person that could be the king of another nation, if it doesn't matter to him because it's in another time period. Just - he has a lot of questions. He _always_ has a lot of questions.   
  
One of which he can't dare to ask, with how it knocks his breath away to have Dimitri press his lips so gently against his hand.  
  
Unfortunately, Claude doesn't get a second to even decide on what he wants to say, before the door is clicking open, and Hilda pokes her head inside. "Hey, Claude, I-" She stops herself and stares. Claude and Dimitri stare back. She raises a hand to her mouth, but that's not nearly enough to hide her wide smile. "Oh, actually, nevermind, I just realized I could handle it myself."   
  
Groaning, Claude slips his head out of Dimitri's hand. "Why is it always _you_?" he asks.   
  
Hilda only laughs at him.


	3. Evening

Dimitri starts to fold neatly into Claude's life, after that. Why wouldn't he? Claude has to admit that he's very likeable, the kind of person who lifts up boxes Marianne is trying to move out of the way, and who listens attentively to Ignatz's thoughts about the latest art exhibit down the street. He never leaves Claude's side when it comes to guarding him, unless Claude tells him that he can, that he should. Every night, without fail, Dimitri does his best to cook something so that Claude can be welcomed home and allowed to relax.   
  
It's kind of odd, honestly. Claude can't recall the last time he's been able to relax with someone like this, be pampered. He lives on his own for a reason, after all, in that it's better to be independent than rely on anyone either side of his family might want to shove onto him. But Dimitri has nothing to do with his family. Dimitri is his own person. If he has a connection to any other individual, then it's honestly just... Claude himself.   
  
That's a new one.   
  
"So what were you and Lysithea talking about while I was busy with Lorenz?" Claude asks, his phone now back firmly in his pocket where it deserves to be. The Lysithea in question is off again, laptop held closely to her chest while she talks to someone else through her phone. (Definitely a girl day today.) "It seemed like she got quite excited about the subject."   
  
Dimitri smiles at him, hands loose at his side, ready to react to anything. Always so vigilant. "We were talking about how magic has become more of a passive force in the world than an active one," he tells Claude, holding open the door to his office for him. Claude suspects he would have done that even without being a bodyguard. "It's apparently quite a mystery in the world, why that change has occurred..."   
  
"Ah yes, the great mystery of magic," Claude muses, chuckling. "I'd ask if you have any idea on it, but, well... You're not really a mage or anything, are you? It would have been revolutionary if you were..." As it is, even with some of the texts from back then managing to survive, the traditional kinds of magics have managed to slip through the modern era's fingertips. Why that is... Well, like he said. To have a mage would be revolutionary, especially to make up for the considerable amount of texts they _did_ unfortunately lose.   
  
Dimitri does that golden retriever droop again, and takes his usual seat along one end of Claude's desk. "I apologize for my lack of knowledge," he says, as though it's his fault.   
  
Waving him off, Claude checks over the large file that Lorenz sent over on the matter of who just exactly is interfering with him. "Listen, you learned what you needed to in order to survive," he says simply, a little absent minded as he reads over the information he's been sent. "Not everyone could be a mage, from what I understand of the process. Anyway, I imagine that we'll get to an answer sooner or later. That's just the nature of humans. Some people have actually theorized that magic simply rolls throughout the world in stages."   
  
"That is what Lysithea said as well," Dimitri muses, opening up the laptop Cladue got him the other day so that he can return to the typing program he diligently works on every day. "She said that the theory is that magic wanes in and out of this earth like the tides, or similar to how the moon has its phases. She said the greater mystery isn't what happened to magic, but rather where it's going. Once humans have figured out where magic goes - whether that's some sort of other plane or simply away from this planet, nearer to stars - then that will be the next great... frontier." He shrugs, tongue sticking out just a bit as he sets up his next bit of "homework". "Or so she says."   
  
Hearing Lysithea get so excited about that kind of thing makes Claude grin, even as he focuses more on the work that he has in front of him. "It's her most passionate life's work. We're lucky that we were able to snag her for Golden Deer, honestly." If they didn't have Lysithea... Some of the things that he wants to accomplish with Project Verdant Wind just wouldn't be possible. "Anyway, it looks like next month is when we'll start preparing for that trip I mentioned a while ago, and actually going on that trip will happen the month later."   
  
"I'll prepare for the way there, then." Dimitri nods, determined for whatever strange and foreign way of transportation he has to go through.   
  
Honestly, it's sort of endearing, and it makes Claude want to drag him all around Fodlan on different methods of transportation, just to see his eye go wide in awe all over again. While Dimitri is still always so excited when they find any reason to use the subway system, Claude can tell that he's starting to adjust. The train might be a downgrade when they get to it.   
  
"We should probably get you more clothes, then," Claude says, thinking about his latest paycheck. "The climate is a little different, obviously, even as we're shifting into spring... And anyway, you're honestly due for more. I say I've been paying you out of my own account, but it's really just me keeping track of money that I put aside with you in mind..." He's definitely breaking some sort of labor law there. But what else can he do? It's not as though Dimitri has any paperwork or forms filled out that proves he exists here in Fodlan, or anywhere else in the world... So Claude is kind of in a bind on how he can otherwise pay Dimitri besides with physical cash.  
  
Which, granted, Dimitri seems to be perfectly fine with handling, and has some tucked away in his temporary room at Claude's place along with whatever he carries on his person. The problem is that he can't do that for how much money Claude is determined to rightfully pay him. So... Claude just has to keep track of it the old fashioned way, with a spreadsheet. It's an odd position, but oh well.   
  
Dimitri glances down at himself, taking stock of the simple navy suit jacket he's wearing over a plain black shirt underneath. "Well... I suppose I do need to have more clothes," he says. "I am simply unsure of what would be considered.... appropriate, in this day and age. Fashionable?"   
  
"Don't worry about it." Claude winks. "The shops around here will give you a pretty decent idea of what is trending... but honestly, so long as you like what you pick, and how it looks on you, that's all that matter. For example, I don't think I've ever seen Lorenz outside of leather, purple, or both, with the ever present rose theme. If something appeals to you, then it looks good more than something you'd hate."   
  
"Then... I suppose we'll see what is available." Dimitri seems content to leave it at that, returning to his own work, and Claude goes back to his. Now, however, he has something else to look forward to at the end of his work day, besides just some delicious food.   
  
Some of his friends certainly seem to pick up on it as he and Dimitri start to head out, with Lorenz pressing one finger delicately along the curve of his jaw. "Do the two of you have something planned for tonight?" he asks. "Dimitri seems quite excited."   
  
Claude looks up at the blond and smiles a little. While Dimitri is doing his absolute best to seem calm, well - heart on his sleeve. He's definitely fidgeting a little bit, eager as can be. "Just a night out," he tells his coworkers casually, waiting for Hilda to pack up all her things so that they can all leave the office together. Hilda always brings a whole bunch of things to work, various little drinks and cosmetics for when something is taking a million years to load, or she has to wait on the phone line. "I thought I'd show Dimitri the mall we have here." He's pretty sure Dimitri knows what a mall is, after all his time watching the television, and going on the computer. It's not that hard a concept to grasp.   
  
Of course, the idea of a mall has Lorenz sigh a little, and Claude can already tell what he's thinking. Out of all the places in Derdriu, why take Dimitri to such an uncivilized place such as a _mall_? Yet before he can say anything, Marianne speaks up. "If you guys are heading there... Do you think you could pick something up for me?" Her hands wind around each other. "If it's not in the way, of course..."   
  
"There is no way that it would be in the way," Dimitri says immediately, without a second's hesitation. "What do you need?" Which is of course entirely like him.   
  
Fortunately, Claude is on the right track there with him, and he smiles at Marianne. "Don't worry about it. Let me guess, it's something for one of your pets, right?"   
  
Marianne can't help but look embarrassed, but she nods. "That's right... I had to take Tsong to the vet because of something he ate, and I've been so occupied with making sure he takes his medication that I forgot to get more treats for everything else..."   
  
"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm familiar with what you like to get your cats... Then, we'll stop by the pet store in the mall on the way out." Grinning, he waves a jaunty hand at her. "I'll make double sure with you by sending a picture over, so you don't have to worry, alright, Marianne? Feel free to go running back home so that you can fight with your cat on swallowing medicine."   
  
Igntaz chuckles a little, escorting Hilda as she finally hauls her own bag up. "We're all heading down the same elevator, so I think there's only so much any of us can rush."   
  
"Says you," Claude declares as they all pile into the elevator. "I plan on running the moment the doors open~."   
  
He says it just as a joke, of course. Yet before he knows it, there's a nice broad hand along his shoulder, and Dimitri tugs him close, right up against his side. "I think _not_ ," he murmurs. "I'm staying by your side, and not letting you run off even a few steps ahead."   
  
Jeez. Just... Jeez. Claude can feel his cheeks start to burn more than he'd expect, and that only gets worse when he notices Hilda looking away with her hand muffling a laugh. Turning his head, he looks up at Dimitri. "It was just a joke," he says lightly. "Although now I'm half tempted to do it, just to see how you react."   
  
"That teasing nature of yours really can be such a problem, I think."   
  
"Yes, yes~."   
  
It doesn't take very much time at all for them to separate from the rest of the Deer, and hop onto the subway. As they ride along the rails, Claude can't help but notice how Dimitri sticks even closer to him than usual. "Are you really that worried that something will happen?" he asks quietly, not minding how Dimitri stands watch while Claude sits and relaxes.  
  
Dimitri doesn't even glance back over to him, still focused on everything and everyone else around them. "You were attacked the last time that we went out so casually like this," he answers. "I don't want that same sort of thing to happen again."   
  
"Even though you were there to save me instantly before I could get so much as roughed up?"   
  
"As a guard," Dimitri says solemnly, "I should be able to act before so much as a single hair is stirred from action."   
  
That's right. Claude does his best to commit that to memory as he settles back in his seat, waiting for their car to slow. Dimitri is just acting like this because he has such a strong sense of duty, and feels that he owes a great deal to Claude from his time here - maybe even his life, he might say, if Claude were to ever really press on the matter. It's a professionalism he can appreciate, he really can. It's just... almost disappointing, to think of it that way-   
  
Oh. Claude lets out a breath as him and Dimitri make their way off onto their stop, and through the small shopping area that populates this one. He sees what's happening here. Honestly, he supposes he should have seen it ages ago because of all the things they're doing - Dimitri cooking dinner for him, Dimitri holding him close, Dimitri smiling so earnestly at him. Claude isn't used to those kinds of things being given to him so freely, so regularly. It's been enough to slip past even his pretty solid guard..   
  
Dimitri does it again when he reaches the top of the stairs that lead into the streets, offering a hand back to Claude with that sweet smile of his. What else can he do? All Claude _can_ do is smile at him as well, and accept that offered hand. It's not as though Dimitri is purposefully hitting his heart like this. He's just being nice... and he can't possibly realize how much it's making Claude like him, more than he ever should in with their situations being what they are.   
  
A part of him almost wishes he could bring up how Dimitri is going to return to his time period soon, inaccessible to him in any way but a distant memory. He can think it, of course, and Claude does his absolute best to think about that a whole lot as he guides Dimitri down the street... but giving a proper voice to something has such a deeper effect. Unfortunately, they're in public, and both of them agreed a long time ago not to mention anything suspicious, let alone _blatant_ , about Dimitri's predicament where other people could easily overhear.   
  
So Claude stuffs it in his chest, where he can stew over it later, and nudges Dimitri towards one large building in particular. Over its doors, it proudly displays the name _Red Locket_ , and a steady stream of people slip in and out. "Here we are," he tells Dimitri, and steps through the door that is held open for him. One of these days, he'll probably be able to do it for Dimitri... maybe. "Try not to get overwhelmed."   
  
"I am not a child," Dimitri scolds him, and all Claude can do is laugh, because he remembers as well as he's sure Dimitri does the way he stared in amazement at the underground. Now that it's been pointed out, in fact, he does his absolute best to not just spin around in place as they enter the mall properly, together. Claude knows there are plenty more impressive places throughout Fodlan, honestly - big open air malls that let one soak in the sunshine nearer to the border of Almyra, fantastically designed places that are often the subject of many an aesthetic blog...   
  
But Derdriu's Red Locket Mall is plenty impressive in its own right, he's proud to say, with patterned tiles that remind him of his other homeland, and an eyecatching map of the place that does its job perfectly. While Dimitri pretends, badly, that he's not looking over to the smoothie shop that's _right_ there near the entrance, Claude inspects the mall map.   
  
It's been a while since he's dropped by this place, so he's honestly not as confident in where everything is as he might have been once upon a time... and he doesn't think he's ever actually been this confident. He might not have a disdain for the average mall as Lorenz does, but he also doesn't really go to any of them very often.   
  
After a little bit of looking it over, however, everything starts to flood back to him, and Claude smiles. "Alright, I've got it," he tells Dimitri. "The pet store here that Marianne wanted us to drop by is here on the ground floor... Which does make sense, honestly. Some people arrive here in cars, and recharge them in the parking garage while they shop, so all that heavy stuff they might get at a pet store doesn't have as much of a distance to be moved. So I think what we should do is just start at the top, and then we can get whatever Marianne needs as we leave the place."   
  
Coming over, Dimitri inspects the map. "There are quite a bit of floors in this place..."   
  
"With this particular mall being right in the city instead of somewhere a little more open?" Claude shrugs, gesturing for Dimitri to follow along with him. "It has to make use of the space it has... and, like with every other building that's in Derdriu, that often means going up or going down. And going up is often a lot easier than going down." The dirt is where the subway makes its home, after all. Claude understands the need to have more space, and maybe anchor a building a little more in the case of the next storm... It's just not something that can happen without a million hoops to jump through and more time than is often really worth the effort.   
  
The escalators are just ahead of them, offering a relaxed way up to enjoy the sights without waiting for the constant up-and-down of an elevator. They don't quite make it there before Dimitri reaches forward, lightly tapping at his back. "They have wyvern services here," he says, and Claude glances to the side. Sure enough, right in the area at the base of the escalators, there's a cheery open counter sort of place. The sign is rather adorable: a fat and shimmering cartoonish golden wyvern with wide eyes more befitting a dog than a lizard with wings, and the words _Windside Wyverns_. Not the best name, in Claude's opinion, but it seems to be doing well enough.   
  
"This place relies a lot on public transportation, as I'm sure you noticed," Claude says, keeping his voice quiet as the two of them step onto the escalator. It's the kind of thing Dimitri doesn't seem confident about, and he keeps his hands to himself instead of on the railing, but he follows because Claude is there. Mentally, Claude kicks his stupid heart. Not now. Never, preferably, but at least not _now_. "So people are kind of limited in how much they can carry if they want to get back home... and they might get especially worried about being robbed."   
  
Familiar with late night attacks on the vulnerable now, Dimitri frowns, and nods his head. "It seems that's always a concern... No matter the city."   
  
"Yup. Even if the crime rate is lower in Derdriu, at least on that sort of scale, there are still people who worry about it, and I can't say there _aren't_ people who do it. Additionally, it's just troublesome to carry a whole lot when you might live a good while away." He flicks his finger in the direction of Windside Wyverns, now down below them. "So services like that are pretty common, whether here, or even in other places that just have the fortune of being full of different shops. They'll basically deliver your shopping to your home, while you go there yourself through the subway, or in a cab... Whatever. It's basically just an extra bit of convenience."  
  
Dimitri considers that, watching his feet carefully as the two of them step off at the top of the escalator. Probably a wise choice, honestly. He ties his shoes pretty neatly, but better for him to not have to deal with his shoelaces getting caught by accident. "It's amazing to me how much of things are convenience nowadays," he says, and tilts his head to the side when Claude chuckles into his hand. "What?"  
  
"It just makes you sound like an old soul," he says, winking at him. It can be a good excuse; Dimitri isn't the only person who has thoughts like that. It's just that he's the only person who was dragged from the past.   
  
The top of the mall is a pretty relaxed place, meant for enjoying the view out into the city and with a decent glimpse of the harbor as well where it shimmers against the sunset. A lot of food is there, needless to say, although a few shops have made their mark as well. Places where it's easy to window shop, that sort of thing. Claude doesn't pay them much mind at all, instead immediately dragging Dimitri over to a more stall-like set up that's right in the middle of the dining space. Dimitri glances over it immediately, no doubt to ascertain both threats and just what it is exactly. "Hotdogs...? You're getting food? I thought we were going clothes shopping?"  
  
"Can't do that on an empty stomach." Claude grins at him. "Besides, these are the best because we can eat them while we walk around and see what kind of clothes snag your attention. Although we'll have to be careful depending on which stores we go to... They'll get pissed on us if we drop food onto nice clothing. Or, really, anything that they're selling. It's a dick move to mess up merchandise and give the employees more needless work."   
  
Dimitri seems to be a little wary of it, but he still stays close with Claude as the two of them get in line, and he eyes the menu. "Then, should we get rather plain styled hotdogs...?"  
  
"I'd rather get a Galdog, with all the fixings," Claude says, and grins as he points it out for Dimitri on the menu. "Well, maybe a little more than just all of those..."   
  
That earns a squint from Dimitri as he quietly mouths the list of ingredients to himself. "...Claude. It already has onions, relish, a pickle, tomatoes, peppers... What _else_ could you put onto it?" A pause, and he sighs. "Also, that all seems rather messy to eat..... Especially if we're <>walking."   
  
"You'll love it," Claude says mildly as they step forward in the line. "Great texture, and there's nothing quite as appetizing to the stomach as the smell of all those ingredients together on a warm poppy seed bun... We should get two each."   
  
"Do not get a stomach ache, Claude. We have a great deal of walking to do!"  
  
All those complaints disappear when Dimitri gets his first bite of his hotdog, after Claude leans on him a little bit. He closes his eye, sighing through his nose - and it's a good sigh, one of contentment. "There really are some fantastic textures in all of this...It's not really boring at all."   
  
"See, I was right." Claude winks. "That's why I got it for you."   
  
Dimitri takes another bite of his hotdog, looking away with a pale blush that stands out on his paler skin. "You have gotten to know me very well," he admits. "Still, we should not walk and eat this. The view is very beautiful from up here, is it not? Let's eat at one of the tables."   
  
Well, Dimitri might have a point here, so Claude follows him along, and they're fortunate enough to find an empty table for the two of them. "You really do never get tired of the sight over Derdriu, do you?" he asks, and forces his voice to not be too fond. "Whether it's in my office, or at my apartment, you always seem to like looking out towards the horizon, and over hundreds of people going about their day."   
  
Chuckling, Dimitri takes a seat. "I can't help it," he admits, gaze going out the massive floor-to-ceiling windows which are before them. "Something about it... makes me feel as though I can look forward to everything carrying on as it is. No matter where or when one is at, there is still the sun setting so reliably... People still live their lives out as best they can. I used to be overwhelmed, coming to Derdriu, but, honestly... Seeing this horizon that has not changed all that much, people living like they always will, that soothes me. Not as much has changed as I thought it had." He looks away from the window, to Claude, and that one eye of his shines so bright and blue in the light of the setting sun. "Thank you, Claude."   
  
That smile is going to kill him one day. Claude really swears it. He's going to be murdered, and that smile will get away scott free. It's at least easy to bury the way it makes him feel with another bite of his dog, letting the tastes of food offer a decent distraction.   
  
"You're always thanking me," he says after a moment, and hopes it's not too obvious how his heart is fluttering. It really is a treacherous little thing. "But it could be a problem for me, you know, if you weren't treated well here... and I can't even say that you seeing the horizon from a tall building is even something that I've done. It's just a little side effect, and bound to happen in Derdriu."   
  
"Regardless," Dimitri says, with that trademark stubbornness that has him dig in his heels. "Thank you. While perhaps it may have been something that could have been a problem for you, since this concerns-" And he trips up for a moment, before regaining his wording. "-our friend in church, that was only in terms of responsibility." And there's that smile again; Claude takes a larger bite of his hotdog. "Your kindness is something that is all you."   
  
Claude shakes his head. "You really are too soft," he informs Dimitri. All that does is make him laugh softly.   
  
"I would gladly be more soft than anything else," he informs him. "If I could be like that for the rest of my life, I could almost ask for nothing else."   
  
"Oh, you should never say that," Claude chuckles. "There's a whole world with all sorts of things in it, after all, and you should never settle for less." He winks, taking a sip of his drink.  
  
Something in the way that Dimitri hums hints he has other thoughts on that sort of thing, but he doesn't bring them up for now. Instead, he just enjoys the food Claude recommended, and the two of them talk about different things, different places Dimitri would like to see or that Claude wants to show him. It doesn't take long for them to finish their hotdogs, which leaves only their drinks left, and those are a little easier to sell Dimitri on when it comes to wandering about. So with their food done, they head to some of the shops along the top floor, the few that aren't places to eat at.   
  
Granted, the first they wander into isn't exactly somewhere they can buy a lot of things for Dimitri.... probably. It's a very pastel kind of place, where teenagers and fairy kei stylists thrive. While it might not be Dimitri's style, that doesn't mean it's any less deserving of his fascination, and, well, hey. Claude is more than happy to wander through as well. It's incredibly different from the styles he prefers, with boldly colored patterns, but he can appreciate the fluff of certain skirts, and the sheer amount of accessories.   
  
Dimitri seems to like it as well, smiling as he goes over the various headbands that are on a rack. "There's so much variety, even with how they're all similar things in similar colors," he tells Claude, holding up a headband with an enormous bow attached that has a plastic picture of some old cartoon character. It's not one of the really famous ones that even people outside of Fodlan know, so Claude isn't sure who it's supposed to be... But that's vintage for you. "These are very cute."   
  
"Do you want one?" Claude grins, picking up another headband - pretty pastel unicorn horns all lined up amidst a mini bouquet of equally pale and soft flowers. "I bet you'd make quite an image."   
  
"Oh, no." Dimitri shies back, embarrassed again. "I wouldn't make the items look good at all... These should be for someone much cuter."   
  
Claude clicks his tongue, although he does put the headband back. It's definitely the kind of thing that would at least look better with a lot more items, and Claude knows they don't intend to spend most of their money here... It's almost unfortunately. "It doesn't matter if someone thinks they're cute on a particular kind of person, you know," he tells Dimitri as they move onto something holding what looks like a treasure trove of different necklaces. They clatter against one another when he twirls the rack around. "If you like it, you can just get it."   
  
"Still..." Dimitri pauses, looking at some fantastically shaped bags which are hanging from the wall. "Claude, could I use some of my own money for this?"   
  
This guy, honestly.... "It's all your own money anyway," Claude points out to him patiently, tucking his hand into his pocket so that he can thumb his own wallet. Just because he's using his own card doesn't mean anything, after all. "But I take it you want to use what you physically have on you, huh? It is a pretty cute bag..."   
  
Taking one of those shaped like a star, a pretty bright pink, Dimitri smiles back at him. "That is what I thought as well. It's very endearing!"   
  
That turns out to be the only thing that Dimitri has an interest in buying, although Claude manages to convince him into buying a large shirt with a pastel graphic on it that goes around the whole shirt. One shirt can't be too bad to buy... and Dimitri does have to have clothes he can just lounge in. Besides, Claude saw the way that he was looking at it over and over again.   
  
Dimitri tucks the shirt into the star bag, because they may as well use it for its intended purpose of carrying things, and then they move onto the next place.... only to immediately skip it the moment Dimitri pokes his head in and realizes just what kind of store it is when he spots all the _lingerie_ that's on display. Immediately, face blazing red, he almost forcibly moves Claude along. Claude lets him; he's trying to avoid laughing too hard and honestly can't stay on his feet.   
  
At least Dimitri seems to respond a little better to the _incredibly_ classy gothic store that they step into next, although Claude can't be entirely surprised about that one considering the black armor Dimitri appeared in. At least it will certainly make an impression, going for an all black look, although Claude convinces him not to get anything too obviously fancy. Instead, they go for a more minimalist approach, which Dimitri seems more than happy with, although he takes a moment to pause while they're browsing. "What are you doing?" Claude asks, endlessly curious.   
  
With his face screwed up, Dimitri slowly pecks his fingers along the screen of his cell phone - one of the things that Claude also had him get. If he's going to be here for so long, after all, well, it would be strange if he didn't have a phone. "I am... checking on something," Dimitri says slowly as he peck-types, unable to do anything better. Poor guy. Well, Claude has a lifetime of typing at the speed of light with one hand, so he should probably be a little forgiving. He inspects some attractively done belts while Dimitri types, and looks up when the phone finally gets put away. "I found the answer," he reassures Claude, heading towards one section in particular.   
  
"Oh, did you...? Ah!" Claude grins at the various shoes that are on display along the top of some low shelves. "Going for some boots, are you?"  
  
Dimitri smiles a little. "I really like the way boots feel, honestly... Although I can tell that it's going to take a bit of time to break them in, so my feet may be a little sore. You don't have to worry - I'll ensure that they won't be in my way as I do my job."   
  
"I know a few tricks for softening boots up, so no worries," Claude says, waving his hand at him. There are gloves he likes, so he decides to get a little something for himself. "But you would be the kind of guy who likes leather... although do you want to know a secret?"   
  
"If you are so eager to tell me a secret for once, I can't decline, now, can I?" Dimitri smiles, taking two pairs of boots - one pair that really seem way too small for him, but Claude will let him try on whatever he likes. The design of the smaller pair seem to be rather different than the other ones, after all, so they can always ask the employees about the design in a larger size if this fails like Claude suspects it will... For the time being, he just leaves Dimitri to his shoe fitting and shopping, and gets some things for himself.   
  
When Dimitri finally comes back to him, it's with an additional bag as well that's slung over his shoulder, and two shoe boxes balanced in his arms. He makes quite the sight, mostly blacks and blues while a cheery ping star bag is hanging from the crook of one arm. "You look adorable," he teases Dimitri, while being completely truthful at the same time. He hopes one covers up the other.  
  
"Hush," Dimitri says mildly as the two of them head back to the escalators. "We have the rest of the stores to go visit, don't we?" And he's not wrong there. So Claude indulges Dimitri in dropping by every stop that catches his attention, and not all of them are clothing stores. Video games are particularly interesting to him, with Claude happily pointing out the different latest titles, and which companies have gotten shut down for illegal crunch practices discovered after game release. He's even more fascinated when Claude introduces him to games he can play on his phone.  
  
With all their dallying around, it's no wonder that it takes a good long while for them to reach the ground floor again, and Claude takes a glance at his phone. "Oh boy... It looks like we've really taken a while," he says, and takes stock of the full bags him and Dimitri are now _both_ carrying around. Honestly, Dimitri is carrying more than he would have expected... But maybe it's a good thing, even if Claude isn't entirely sure what they'll do with all that clothing when it's time for Dimitri to vanish like he's supposed to. "I think the wyvern place should still be open, so let's rush down to get Marianne's cat treats - actually, you go to the wyvern place and stand in line, and I'll go grab the treats, okay?"   
  
"Are you sure you won't need any help?" Dimitri asks, concerned, although he's adjusting all his stuff to make a run for the shop. Around his shoulder, Claude can see that there's still people over there, no doubt in a similar predicament as the two of them.   
  
Claude winks. "I'll be fine. Besides, with the way you've been shopping, you might end up getting some animals there, too. I don't think we can get that back to my apartment so easily." Ignoring Dimitri's flustered protests, Claude makes his way hastily through the mall ground floor.   
  
It shouldn't take him long at all to get what Marianne needs, or get in contact with her to make sure he has the right brand of treats... There's not too much reason to rush, he supposes. There are plenty of cameras around, to keep an eye on things, and there are still plenty of people around even as a few shops are starting to close up. No one would touch him in this kind of situation.  
  
And yet he still hurries as he dips into the pet supply store, thinking of the concerned way Dimitri had fussed over him, how he'd looked back after his retreating form across the mall floor. Just thinking about that has Claude rub at his face and shake his head, waiting for a text back from Marianne. This is getting ridiculous. He's starting to fall way too fast. And for what? Just a little bit of attention? That's ridiculous. Claude does his best to remind himself that it's ridiculous even as he runs back through the mall to where he left Dimitri.   
  
Of course, as the saying goes, the best laid plans of mice and men... When he returns, Dimitri isn't holding onto any of the bags they got - not even the cute pastel pink one. Instead, he has a smoothie drink in each of his hands, and holds one out to Claude as soon as he's close enough. "Here," he tells him. "For your thirst - we have been moving about quite a great deal this evening."   
  
"Did you already send our things off?" Claude asks, a little exasperated, mostly fond despite the words he'd been trying to repeat to himself only a few minutes prior. "I hope you managed to give some good directions to the apartment building, at least..."  
  
Dimitri's smile is rather pleased, and eager for approval at the same time. "I remembered the address itself," he tells Claude, offering his now completely freed up arm for Claude to hold onto. "I have paid attention to the letters you have received, and that you put on the counter before you remember to take them to your room." Or, rather, they both know that it's just Claude dumping them onto the kitchen counter whenever he gets them in the morning, and Dimitri quietly asking if they're important, which prompts Claude to dump them into the ever growing pile in his room.   
  
He really needs to go through them to sort what needs to go into the recycling... it's just hard to sort through all the stuff he knows isn't exactly important.   
  
That particular little bit of shame _aside_ , Claude chuckles before taking a sip of his smoothie. Bright and citrusy, the perfect thing to wake him up a little. Maybe he really was getting a bit exhausted... "You certainly do pay a lot of attention to things you've dedicated yourself to, huh?" he asks, paying attention himself to the way that Dimitri slows his much longer gait for him. "That does reassure me, at least..."   
  
"And I gave them my phone number in case something goes wrong!" Dimitri says, almost like an excited little kid who wants to boast about his accomplishments to anyone who will listen. "But nothing will go wrong. So please rest assured, Claude..." Almost suddenly, his free arm wraps around Claude's back, and Claude nearly stumbles as he's pulled close.   
  
Not that it would matter if he did stumble, honestly... With Dimitri's strong arm around him, he almost doesn't have to move his feet or legs at all. Dimitri is a steady pillar, keeping him upright perfectly as he moves them through the door.   
  
It doesn't help that the outside is starting to get just a little chilly as they exit into the night, and Dimitri is just - so _warm_ where he holds Claude against him. It takes a second for Claude's brain to restart, and he hides that moment of surprise with a light laugh. "Trust me, I'm assured," he tells Dimitri, wrapping his own arm around the blond's back for lack of any better idea of what to do with his hand. If he refrains, then it would just make him seem like he's, well, exactly as awkward as he feels. "Now what is this all about?"  
  
"I want to keep you safe," Dimitri says seriously, his gaze not on Claude but all the people around them as they walk. He turns his head to especially glance into any streets or alleys they pass. "The last time it was dark... I reacted much too slowly. So the best way to stop something is to prevent it from happening in the first place.." His words trail off, and he glances down at Claude almost apologetically. "But I say that just thinking of me. Are you alright, Claude?"  
  
Is he alright? Claude knows what Dimitri means, that he would easily let go of him if he said that he wasn't comfortable being held so close to him. It'd be a very simple thing to say. Yet it would also be a lie, because... he _does_ like this. He likes how tall Dimitri is besides him, the sturdy build of his body that warms Claude so neatly, how safe he feels with that arm around him. When's the last time he felt truly safe? Even in his apartment, he's often looked through it for a sign of trespassing... At Golden Deer, anyone could listen to the words coming out of his mouth.   
  
But Dimitri makes him feel safe, warm, at _ease_ , just with a simple arm around his back. Rationally, he knows it can't really change anything... And yet rationality can't change how he feels.   
  
It'd be easy to lie. Claude has done it dozens of times before. And yet he doesn't, not quite, as he shrugs and allows Dimitri's arm to stay right where it is. "Hey, I'll listen to the expert on these matters," he says, not making eye contact in favor of radiating a casual air with the way he sips from his smoothie. It may be a little chillier, and better for hot drinks, but what can he say? He still likes the taste. He still likes Dimitri's warm comfort. "I'll make sure to not trip on those big feet of yours."   
  
"Claude!" Dimitri's face is a little more pink, and Claude can't tell if that's from regular embarrassment or the cold. "Honestly.... You tease far too much."   
  
All Claude can do is laugh because, after all this time, Dimitri really should know better. He grins even more when next morning comes around, and Dimitri doesn't immediately go to his office alongside of him. Instead, this time it's Claude who waits along the hallway, watching as Dimitri takes his enormous bag of things and starts cheerfully handing out gifts to Claude's various friends. New faux-leather boots for Lorenz, that adorable star bag for Hilda, on and on... Everyone is in quite the good mood by the time Dimitri finishes, returning to Claude's side.   
  
"My friends are all going to end up spoiled if you keep that up," Claude teases him with a little tilt of his head. "No wonder it took you forever to go through the mall. You were gift shopping. I guess I really can't keep my eye off of you when we go somewhere, now, can I?"   
  
"Everyone has been generous to me," Dimitri insists, looking in his bag again. "I have to repay that debt. So, Claude..." Yeah. He was expecting this turn of events. Claude snorts out a laugh, and Dimitri's face goes pink. "Please close your eyes."   
  
They're really doing this right there in the open, are they? Claude closes his eyes regardless, because he supposes there's no reason not to. Everyone else got their present right there in the open office, where everyone else could see. He's not any different. It is, in fact, very stupid to want to have anything different, Claude reminds himself. It's better if he's like everyone else, if he's just another Hilda or Lorenz getting a gift from the nice tall blond with shoulders like a brick wall. Wanting to be somewhere private is honestly stupid-   
  
There's a brush against his ear, and Claude feels his breath catch, right there in the middle of his throat. It's Dimitri's fingers - Claude has become quite familiar with them not only from how many times Dimitri holds him close against his body but from when they've cooked with one another, fingers brushing against minced ingredients, guiding each other to the proper technique. They're there now, against the curve of Claude's ear, and he can feel the light pressure of something... metallic...   
  
"Done," Dimitri says quietly, and Claude is already reaching for his phone before Dimitri can finish. "You can look now."   
  
Just by the feel of it along his ear, Claude knows that it's one of those really elaborate and pretty ear cuffs... It's just, he isn't prepared for _how_ intricate and beautiful it is until his camera flicks to life on his phone screen, and he feels his breath hop out of him again. It's in the shape of a dragon, shining a radiant gold as it follows the curve of his ear, and little emerald jewels peek out from its eyes. In his camera, he can see Dimitri shyly standing behind his shoulder, not making eye contact the direct way, but still meeting Claude's gaze through the phone.   
  
"Does it suit your tastes?" Dimitri asks quietly. "I know you don't wear a lot of accessories... but I've noticed you like wearing earrings. So I thought..."   
  
Off in the corner of his eye, Claude can tell that all of his friends are watching this with waaay too much attention than he feels he really needs right now - he thinks that might be _embarrassment_ talking, which, wow, when's the last time he felt that? There's a burning at the back of his ears that he ignores, instead trying to focus on looking at himself in the camera, and not Dimitri. Dimitri, standing there, his eye shining hopefully, nervously. Claude runs a finger down along the comfortable metal that's at his ear. It really does fit very well.   
  
"No wonder it took you forever in that one shop," Claude gets himself to say, moving out of the camera app and tucking his phone away. "Are you trying to steal my company away from me, Dimitri?" There, the teasing is a little easier for him to handle, especially when Dimitri gets so flustered, and Claude laughs. "I'm joking, don't worry. Now come on, we have work to do." And with that, he steps into his office, Dimitri following close behind.   
  
Claude doesn't remove his ear cuff for the rest of the day.   
  
He doesn't remove it at all.   
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
"So, when _will_ the two of you tie all of this together with marriage?"   
  
Claude raises an eyebrow, glancing away from some work emails on his phone with one hand and the other hand holding up the latest part of his lunch, some zucchini corn fritters. "You know, when I said that you could ask me anything you had on your mind, Lorenz, I wasn't expecting you to nose about in my private life," he says mildly, biting down on his fritter with a satisfying crunch. "Jeez, do all of you really love Dimitri that much?"   
  
"What a thing to say from the guy who's dating him!" Leonie chuckles, working on her own lunch, accompanied by some lovely ice coffee in a mason jar. It's a cute look, and Hilda steals sips out of it every time Leonie holds it over to her. "You'd think you'd want your friends to like him."  
  
"I mean, it's one thing if you guys like him, which I'm all for," Claude says, waving around another fritter. "But marriage!"   
  
Ignatz tilts his head a little bit forward, embarrassed. "I know it must seem nosy... Still, I hope you can understand why some of us are so curious, Claude. After all, none of us even _knew_ you were dating or had an interest in anyone up until the day you arrived with Dimitri by your side."   
  
"You're one of those guys who would send an invitation to all of us for what you'd describe as a totally average party," Hilda muses, nibbling on some chocolate cake she got from somewhere down the street. "And then, when we'd arrive in totally casual clothing, you'd spring on us that it's actually a surprise wedding." Claude makes a face, but that doesn't help the way Lorenz tries to muffle his laughter into his hand.   
  
Worse, Claude knows he can't even deny it. Instead, he sighs dramatically. "I just want to enjoy a casual dating life, and yet here you are, acting like parents clamoring for grandchildren," he says mournfully.   
  
"I call dibs on naming one of your grandchildren, if you've decided to speedrun ahead to that," Hilda says with a wink.   
  
"What are you all talking about that has to do with running?" Dimitri asks, exiting the stairwell and out onto the bright air of the rooftop garden. Raphael is right besides him, both of them carrying the enormous lunchboxes that make up Raphael's meal. Well, Raphael _and_ Dimitri's meal, considering that Raphael insisted on treating him. That was probably doomed to happen with how much Raph spoils them... "Is there going to be a marathon?"   
  
As Claude faintly wonders where he heard about that, Leonie just waves the two over to sit down with them. "We were just wondering when Claude would have grandkids," she says, with a sparkle in her eye as she gives a sideways glance to Claude. He makes a face at her. "The future, and things like that."   
  
Settling down, Dimitri stares at Claude for a moment, before letting out a slow breath. That's something _impossible_ for Claude to ignore, so he leans in closer. "Hey now, what was that about?"   
  
"I was thinking that if you were to have children," Dimitri says, "then they would become even bigger tricksters and such than you are now."   
  
"Hey!" Yet even as Claude protests, laughter erupts around them, and he shakes his head with a grin. "I swear, did all of you get together before lunch and vote to bully me? This is terrible. Anyway, if we're all done on that..."   
  
"No promises," Hilda murmurs into her next slice of cake, and bats her eyes innocently when Claude makes an exaggerated groan.  
  
Still. He continues. "Anyway, I'll be heading off for my trip next week, so I just want to make sure that you'll all be fine without me." He waves another fritter around, for punctuation. "I've checked some things out ahead of time, and there will be internet on the train, along with at the hotels I have scheduled, so you know how to reach me."   
  
"You're making it sound like you're a parent leaving his rowdy kids home alone for the weekend," Leonie says with a smile.   
  
Hilda winks. "I refuse to make any promises about not having an outrageous party while you're gone."   
  
"I get no respect here, can you believe it?" Claude says with a grin to Dimitri, before continuing on. "Anyway, Raphael, Lorenz, you plan on meeting us at the last location, right?"  
  
With his mouth stuffed full from a whole thing of crab cakes, Raphael gives an enthusiastic thumbs up on his end, and Lorenz puffs out his chest with no small amount of pride. "Of course. By the time you reach the end, we shall have everything prepared perfectly. Simply take care to not dally for too long, alright?"   
  
Claude's grin spreads across his face, and Lorenz already looks as though he's regretting everything he ever said maybe just a _little_ bit. Fortunately for him, it's not as terrible as Claude could make it be, and he could make it really terrible. "Oh, don't worry. We might get a few souvenirs and check out the towns we stop in, but there's no need to really delay. We have a lot of work to do. Even _I_ can respect that, Lorenz."   
  
"I apologize, this is no doubt in regards to myself coming along on the trip," Dimitri says apologetically, working on his own crab cake pile much slower than Raphael. Then again, few people have the kind of zest for food that Raph does. "I swear that I will not cause any delay to something that is so important to the project you've all been putting your all into. You have my word."   
  
Pretty speeches like that always manage to get to Lorenz, and it makes Hilda and Ignatz smile. Leonie only laughs, quietly. "Oh, none of us are worried about you, Dimitri. If anything, you've definitely helped alleviate a lot of our concerns already."   
  
Dimitri blinks. "I have? I wasn't even aware that I was being so helpful..."   
  
Out of everyone he could have expected to sell him out on this matter, Claude can't say Ignatz was on the top of the list, and yet it's him that speaks up, smiling slightly. "I'm not sure how much he told you, Dimitri, but Claude works very hard for Golden Deer and its projects to succeed - not only Project Verdant Wind. But... We've been worried for a while on how much he works."  
  
"I had to drag him out of the office once!" Raphael mentions, laughing so loud and from the depths of his chest that Claude suspects people from the next buildings over can probably hear. "He was so caught up in whatever he was reading that he didn't notice me when I called his name!"   
  
Claude would _love_ to protest the telling of that story, he really would. There's just one little problem, and it's that everyone is forcibly carrying on the conversation without him. This time, it's Hilda who speaks up. "But ever since you came to Derdriu, Dimitri, he's been relaxing so much more! He takes days off, like a normal person, and he goes to have fun at places like the mall, and we don't see him uploading work to the company drive in the middle of the night...."   
  
Really, now. They're _exaggerating_. Claude has done things besides work before! Even if he's admittedly ordered things online more than he's ever really gone out on foot, lately... Maybe for a while now... And he relaxes! It's just that, sometimes, he gets so wrapped up in looking up something for work, because it suddenly occurred to him while he was watching television, and, well...   
  
Maybe he really has been working a whole lot. Welp.   
  
Claude isn't entirely sure _what_ he's going to say as he turns his head to look at Dimitri, mouth opening for - something. He'll figure it out on the fly. But instead, Dimitri beats him to speaking, which feels like a surprise. Usually it's Claude who's the quick talker... "If I could really help Claude this much... Then I couldn't be happier. I've been worried for a long time if I've been able to really help at all since I've arrived in Derdriu. Confirmation of that... is truly a relief."   
  
"Well, even disregarding any personal matters," Lorenz says, delicately picking at his food, "you've done so well, Dimitri, that I can't imagine you have much to be concerned about."   
  
"It's simply because my job as of currently is a bodyguard... but I often feel as though I'm not doing nearly enough."   
  
Of course he'd think that. Claude chuckles, and finally shoves his way into the conversation. "I'm impressed you can say that, considering how diligently you perform your job every single day," he says. "You're always stepping through doors first to make sure that there's no one suspicious lingering around, and you hear things in order to react to them before I can even hit Step 1. You're always taking care of how I'm feeling, or looking... Which I think goes beyond being a bodyguard, honestly." He winks. "Then again, I definitely have a bias towards enjoying your company more than the average bodyguard, so I can't complain."   
  
All the praise is making Dimitri's face go red, and he ducks his head shyly. "Thank you all for the compliments," he says, one of his hands curled up against his lap for apparent lack of any other idea. "Then, I will be certain to keep Claude protected and happy on this trip as well."  
  
Once they've finished up their lunch break, and Claude has stolen them away back into his office, he looks back to Dimitri. Even though the weeks have been quiet, with Dimitri now so smoothly a part of his life that it's funny to think he's not supposed to be, he still appreciates how hard the blond works. Dimitri checks the door behind them before he goes to sit down at the desk, and he still looks up every time there's the sound of a wyvern or pegasus passing by.   
  
Once, Claude thought it was just because he was eternally fascinated by the view outside of his window, and how things have changed for such common animals. Now, instead, he suspects it's more because Dimitri is watching out for threats even from outside... risky and eye catching as an attack through Claude's office window would be.   
  
"Hey," he says lightly, and earns Dimitri's attention immediately as the other man walks across the room. "You've been worrying about how good of a bodyguard you are for a while now, haven't you?"   
  
Dimitri slides his hand along the back of his neck, brushing past the hair he still prefers to wear loose more often than not. Claude has only rarely seen it pulled back in a ponytail. "I know that you would be more than happy if I were simply able to enjoy myself, and not draw undue attention to what has happened," he says quietly, taking his usual seat at Claude's desk that's practically been carved out for him now. Claude always keeps his stuff organized, now, so that there's room for him. "However, it makes me feel... anxious, if I am honest, to simply sit and do nothing, to not give my all to a cause or task. I don't want to take advantage of your kindness..."   
  
Of course he's that kind of guy, although Claude can't say he doesn't understand his view. There are tons of people in the world who feel like they just need to _do_ something, who want to make progress or helps others - or any other number of things. Besides, considering the time period that Dimitri is from? Of course he feels like this. Claude only smiles, plopping down into his seat again. "That's noble and all, as much as a great many people would love sitting and doing nothing... but you know, your presence has been really invaluable even when you're sitting and doing nothing."   
  
"I find that quite hard to believe."  
  
" _Such_ a skeptic." Claude sighs dramatically before smiling. "But think about it. How many times have I been attacked since you started to take up this job?" Dimitri blinks at him, and Claude smiles even wider. "Not a single time, right? The job of a bodyguard isn't just to beat someone up if they try to attack their client. Rather, a bodyguard is even more important in the duty of preemptively stopping an attack before it begins. That can mean checking out a room or place before everyone goes in, or making sure there aren't traps or poisons around... And sometimes that means making people never try anything in the first place. In that aspect, you've been incredible."   
  
Again, there's that embarrassed blush on Dimitri's face, and he tries to hide his smile by glancing down at his laptop. "Well... If my client has no complaints, then I suppose I truly am doing well." As he opens his laptop to do a bit more exploring on the internet - Claude thinks he's stumbled onto a pet site with colorful dragons on it that has taken up some of his spare time - Dimitri pauses to think of something. "At any rate... This will be my first time traveling in this period. I know how to travel back when Faerghus existed, but I'm not entirely certain if some of it still applies here..."   
  
"Packing up is fortunately still packing up no matter the time period," Claude tells him, sending off a quick message to Lysithea to see how the phone meeting her and Marianne are stuck on is going. "I have some suitcases that you can borrow, so you can see how different it is compared to that box we had to borrow for your armor, or the old fashioned packs from your time. It's just a matter of prioritizing what to bring, and all of that. Hey, come here." Even if he does feel a _little_ bad for pulling Dimitri away from his game and typing practice... Once Dimitri is at his side, Claude taps at his screen. "These are the prices for each additional piece of luggage you bring onto the train we'll be using to travel. You get a freebie to carry on with you, but everything else has a price."   
  
"So I see that it goes by weight..."   
  
"Yup. Too much weight would be bad for the train, after all." Claude taps Dimitri's chest with his fist. "So just keep that in mind with whatever you bring along the trip, and whatever you decide to bring back." Yet even glancing up at Dimitri, he can tell that something is on his mind, and Claude laughs a little. "So what were you thinking of bringing along that would get you so worried?"   
  
Jolting a little in surprise at being called out so easily, Dimitri lets out a sheepish laugh. "So it was visible on my face again, that kind of thing... Well, I was just wondering - my armor is rather heavy, and it would cost quite a bit of funds to move it along with us. I was doing my best to recall how much money I have, so that I could pay for it myself instead of relying on your generosity."   
  
Claude stares. It takes even his quick brain a moment to absorb Dimitri's words. "Wait, by armor... You mean that strong black plate armor you first showed up in?"   
  
Claude can't forget its existence at all. Not only is it forever engraved into his brain thanks to how it looked on Dimitri's person when he dropped out of that portal, Dimitri does regular maintenance on it. Every now and then, the smell of oil wafts through the apartment as he makes sure it won't rust from disuse. No one can say that Dimitri is not _responsible_.   
  
Finally, Claude figures out where the heck his voice has gone, and he speaks up. "Why would you want to bring your armor?" He leans back in his chair, swiveling it around just enough so that he can face Dimitri a bit better. "People will stare at you, and I can't really think of a reason to bring it along... Well, I mean, I suppose you _could_ wear it, but I don't think that's necessarily something you need to do as a bodyguard. It would be a lot to put on, and draw just as much attention..."  
  
Dimitri nods. "If there's anyone who would want an explanation, you're absolutely right in desiring it... But I will tell you that it's for no other reason than my own selfishness." He shakes his head. "Honestly, the simple reasoning is that... I would not feel comfortable if I went some place so far away, and I did not have my armor with me."   
  
"Is it important to you...?"   
  
Another nod, and Dimitri's gaze drifts off to the cityscape that's beyond the office window. This time, Claude is pretty sure it has nothing to do with keeping an eye on wyverns or pegasi. "That armor... It is a relic from my father, before he died. He wore it in many important battles when he was younger, and it saved his life many times, or so I was told. It's not the _only_ thing I have left of him, but..."   
  
"But it's the only thing you have left here in Derdriu," Claude finishes for him quiet, and Dimitri nods. Well... That makes sense, no, doesn't it. Claude can understand that feeling of being so separated from everything else, the isolation that weighs down on a person. For Dimitri, in not only an entirely different land but an entirely different time, what must it be like? What do you hold onto, in a situation like that? Apparently, the answer in Dimitri's case is an entire suit of armor. Looking back to his computer, Claude lets out a slow quiet breath. "Well, it's your money in the end, Dimitri. I can't tell you what to bring or not to bring."   
  
From the corner of his eye, he can see Dimitri perk up. "Are you certain? I don't want to cause trouble for you."   
  
"I'm not your parent," Claude tells him with a small smile. "I can only really give you advice on what to do, and trust that you'll make the right choice. And _anyway_..." His smile blossoms into a full blown grin, all teeth. "There's no way you'll cause trouble for me in this, because I'm definitely not helping you with paying for the armor to travel with us, _or_ helping you carry it." Well, while he says that like it's any kind of threat, Claude knows that it's not that big of a deal. After all, Dimitri has already displayed the ability to just casually haul that box around like on the first day he showed up, and he had to go on the subway for them to trek around the city a bunch. If anyone can handle it, it's Dimitri.   
  
There's a reason his smile is so confident and relieved. "I understand. Then, I will ensure that I have enough money for the trip on the train." He presses his hand against his chest and gives that small bow which always makes Claude's heart flutter a little stupidly. When he was a little kid, he was roughly familiar with butlers, and some fancy restaurants he's been to still show off that kind of thing... But it's so different when Dimitri does it. "That's all we need to prepare for, then - should I call the transportation company ahead of time to let them know that I have something particularly heavy to bring along?"   
  
"That would probably be for the best. Here, I'll give you the phone number..." And that essentially settles the rest of their day, with Dimitri making calls to the train station for not only his own reasons, but to pass on a few questions and confirmations from Claude, as well.   
  
They pass through the rest of the week in a similar manner - Claude making sure that Golden Deer will move along just fine without him there to backseat drive every day of the week, and Dimitri patiently handling some of the more domestic affairs. Claude has to admit... He thinks he might miss Dimitri taking on cooking duty every night, with them likely eating whatever the hotel can provide, or at restaurants that might catch their eye.   
  
Just like that, a week is gone, and Dimitri sticks by his side as they send their things ahead of them. They can take the subway themselves. Once they arrive at the station that will lead them out of town, Dimitri stares, and Claude only smiles when he feels Dimitri lean in a little closer to him. Every since Dimitri started doing this bodyguard job, escorting Claude in public places, he's started to do this kind of thing whenever he as a question about the modern world that he can't express so freely... It's cute.   
  
"I did not know that it would come exactly from the subway station - the train, I mean," Dimitri murmurs to him once they've gotten their ticket and are waiting on the platform. "When I looked this up on the internet, it did not look like a subway car..."  
  
Claude leans back against him, and tries to play it off as nothing serious with his chuckle. "The ones you looked up were a lot more angular, and black, weren't they?" he says. "You were looking at old locomotive trains, Dimitri. You hopped from this era to another one not quite far enough back." He laughs again as Dimitri covers his face with one hand, embarrassed. At least, fortunately for him, it's not the kind of thing either of them have time to dwell on for long. Their train slides into the station and, soon enough, they've been settled in a private room while the train starts up again.  
  
Of course, Claude can call it a private room, but it's honestly nothing that hugely fancy. It's just a little bit of space that offers them some leg room, along with a table so that they can eat from a small cart that passes through. While the train might look similar to the subway cars that travel underneath the city, this is new enough that Dimitri inspects every inch of it in abject fascination. Plopping his laptop carrying case down on a seat besides him, Claude grins widely. "These can become beds too, if you ever feel tired."   
  
Just like he was hoping for, Dimitri's eye goes wide. " _Beds_?" he asks. "How luxurious!"   
  
"Well, this train makes stops throughout a good chunk of Fodlan," Claude explains. "It's built for longer distances than some of the other trains that we might see along all of these tracks. In that case, depending on where someone is going, it might do them good to get a decent bit of shut eye while they're riding. In the regular passenger cars, you can recline the seat a little bit as well, if you want to nap... But that requires you keeping an eye out for when your stop is."   
  
"The employees on this train will not tell you?"   
  
Plugging in his laptop, Claude grins. "Not if you don't have a room like this. There are so many passengers that get on these trains every day that it would take a whole lot of effort to keep track of them and all. Generally speaking, there are ticket collectors who go through the cars, and the really good ones will keep in mind whose tickets said they were to get off at one stop... But that's not something promised when you get a ticket in the first place, and you have no idea if you have a good collector on the train or not when you first step on it. Rooms are the only guarantee you'll get."  
  
Dimitri crosses his arms, finally taking a seat himself. After so many weeks of riding on the subway, he seems to have adjusted to life on a moving vehicle like this. "So businesses stay the same after all the years," he muses. "More luxury for more money. I would hate to be a person who would fall asleep and end up going far past my destination..."   
  
"Fortunately, the good news is that is the kind of thing which rarely happens." A quick text is sent to Lysithea, to let him know that the train has taken off from the station, and then Claude looks up to Dimitri. "Hey, you know this is pretty different from taking the subway in a pretty noticeable aspect, right?" He tilts his head to the window. As he watches Dimitri, he absorbs the sheer excitement that lights up his entire person as he takes in the scenery rushing by.  
  
It's the little things in life that make it so worthwhile: Dimitri's reflection in the window as he watches the world go by, the comfortable and smooth ride of the train, the warm smells of Dimitri's baked mozzarella manicotti and Claude's black bean and corn burger. There's not really too much to do besides a tiny bit of work, some podcasts, and sitting over on Dimitri's side of the room while his time displaced bodyguard plays through his dragon adoption game. It's quite the interesting little system, honestly, able to mix and match colors and patterns depending on parents, with a little fighting game, and a functioning economy...   
  
Claude spends a good couple of hours just guiding Dimitri through the economic aspect of it all so that he can get a whole bunch of fake internet currency to buy fake dragons with pretty colors that he likes. One of the prizes ends up being a pretty black dragon with a long tongue blepping out, and a fascinating blue effect that could be either crystal or water "peeking" out from the black scales. It's just a baby, so it's adorable.   
  
"You really love that game, don't you?" Claude asks in amusement when they reach their stop. He gets to watch Dimitri haul up his box of armor like it weighs nothing - to the shock and surprise of the two employees who had been lifting it out from the storage cars. Dimitri just smiles at them before he returns to Claude side. There are suitcases on top of it too, but Dimitri doesn't much seem to mind _that_ either. "I don't even know how you stumbled upon it..."   
  
For a moment, Dimitri doesn't budge, and Claude rolls his eyes before wrapping his free arm around one of Dimitri's. Only then does Dimitri start to guide him through the train station, secure in the knowledge that he can see Claude and knows where he is. Claude can guide him to the places where cabs are, sure, but still... This can't be particularly comfortable for him.   
  
At least it gets Dimitri to speak. "I was simply looking around on one of those... forum boards you spoke of? It was the one for the training program you had me doing. People seemed to like that site quite a lot... so I simply followed them to it."   
  
Well, he supposes _that_ makes sense. The site that Claude had him use initially was meant more for kids and teenagers working on their typing skills or speed, after all... So he guesses it's not too much of a shock that a virtual pet site would get brought up one way or the other.   
  
"As long as you enjoy it, I suppose it's fine." Lightly, Claude nudges him a certain way, and Dimitri follows the unsaid order obediently. "You're not the kind of guy who spends your money recklessly on stuff for online games, I'm glad to have to learned." But then he glances up at Dimitri's face from the side, and has to bite back a wheeze of amusement.   
  
It's a sulking kind of pout that's come to rest on his face, and Claude has an idea of what he wants to say before he says it. "Honestly, with some of the things they offer to the average individual... It _has_ been tempting on some occasions."  
  
Claude laughs all the way to the nearest car that will accept their luggage, which follows the car they choose for their actual _bodies_ on the way to the hotel. For a business trip like this, and with Claude's background being what it is, well, it's a pretty fancy place. Unlike with the train room, he can't really say this is anything _but_ fancy.   
  
Yet funnily enough, as the two of them make their way through the lobby, Dimitri doesn't seem as impressed with it as he's been with... hell, just with plastic bottles, let alone everything else he's experienced since coming to live in Derdriu. He has a rather cool expression, handing their luggage over to people that can simply move them around on carts, and waits for Claude to check them in.   
  
That vibe doesn't change all the way to their room, which is quite a luxurious little place all its own with the kind of beds that people don't seem like they actually _sleep_ in. It's the kind of room where someone thought that gilding everything made it classier, instead of just ostentatious. Still, it's a secure room, high off of the ground, with curtains that Claude can ensure are shut tightly. No recording devices either.   
  
Once he's done that, and Dimitri has done a sweep of the hotel room from top to bottom, Claude plops down on the edge of one bed. They might be sharing a bedroom, but he wouldn't force a single bed onto Dimitri. It's better for things to be this way. "So, is this place not how you'd like?" he asks casually, as though it's not a big deal.   
  
Dimitri stops squinting at the fridge prices near what is an _honest to god minibar_ \- one that no doubt charges a stupid amount for bottled water - and looks over at him awkwardly. "Oh, no - was I coming off as someone who was displeased in any way?"   
  
"Not quite." Claude flops backwards, arms folded behind his head. "Rather, you were just unimpressed, as far as I could tell. It's quite a change, considering how you rode even the train with such delight." Nudging his head just enough to look at Dimitri, Claude grins. "And that was the one that I thought you would be bored of, considering how many times you've traveled Derdriu's underground."  
  
"Ah." Being called out so blatantly really is the best way to get Dimitri to talk. He coughs into one hand, and straightens up away from the fridge. That's probably for the better; Claude thinks he's heard word of this place "accidentally" charging people just for opening the fridge _door_. "Not, it's not that. This place is very incredible, and I can tell that a lot of work and care went into its construction. Decorations such as these-"   
  
And he tilts his head towards some of the decorations, glittering in the hotel room light. "-are not something chosen or put together carelessly. I was simply thinking... that it was strange. While not all of it could be considered the same, precisely, there are so many trends that I thought I saw in the house of nobles, back in Faerghus, and even Leicester..."   
  
A low hum rolls out of Claude's throat, and he keeps his eye on Dimitri as the other man settles down on the other bed. There are chairs they could use, sure, along with a table, but this is honestly far more comfortable, especially since they've gotten off of a train.   
  
"Honestly, there's always a certain romanticism that's held towards the past... That was probably true for your time as well, right? With people thinking of old legends where everything was right or how it should be, or that it was somehow more glamorous. That remains true for this time as well... and it doesn't help that some people legitimately find certain styles or things just extremely pretty and a part of their culture."   
  
"There is a certain something to it," Dimitri agrees. Claude notes that he doesn't call it beautiful or pretty _himself_. "Still, I suppose I was mildly surprised, but... it's still the same thing as usual." He breathes out, and stares at Claude for a moment in thought. "...Claude? I think there is something I would like to speak with you about."   
  
If Dimitri is bringing it up like that... "Is it serious?"   
  
There's a nod. "Yes. I believe it is quite serious."   
  
Claude pushes himself up, and smiles over at him. "Then let's save it for after dinner and after we get cleaned up. That way, if it's something heavy or awkward, we have an excuse to go to sleep right afterwards. Or - let's go clean up first, have that discussion, and _then_ dinner and sleep. There's no room for awkwardness if we can cover up all that silence by stuffing our faces."   
  
A surprised laugh exits Dimitri before he can stop it, and there's a shine to his eye as he stares at Claude. "Your sense of humor is ever terrible," he says softly.   
  
Claude winks. "It's one of my best qualities."   
  
"That worries me about what other qualities you possess," Dimitri says simply, and the sudden clapback has Claude fall to the side in a wheezing fit of laughter, clutching his stomach. As tears sink down into the pretty sheets of this hotel, he blinks them away as best he can to the sight of Dimitri offering his hand with a smile he's very clearly trying to hold back. "Or perhaps what you think of them. You have so many wonderful ones, after all."  
  
Still wiping at his eye with one hand, Claude uses the other to accept Dimitri's offer. "Flattery isn't going to take away from that bit of insult you so smoothly slid in my direction," he tells him with a laugh. "Anyway, there's actually a sauna situation here at this particular hotel. Why don't we use that place to freshen up? Dinner will follow it up perfectly."   
  
Dimitri nods, although Claude can tell that his slightly vacant gaze says he's not entirely familiar with what exactly Claude is talking about. That's alright. Some things just have to be learned about through experience, and it's not that big of a deal.   
  
Claude has him grab some clean clothes - he knows this kind of hotel will likely provide robes, but it's good to have something for themselves - and then the pair of them head out. As they go down through the elevator, Dimitri tilts his head to the side. "You know... At the rate we have traveled, we've no doubt ended up in the lands which used to be a part of Faerghus, haven't we?"   
  
"Yup. It'll probably become even more obvious as we wander through the different towns that are throughout the area." The elevator grinds to a halt, and the two of them step off and into the lower level below ground, where a lot of the pampering sort of services take place. Something to keep it separate from the lobby area, and then the actual hotel rooms.   
  
The gaudiness isn't quite as prevalent here, preferring a more "clean" look, and Claude feels pretty assured in continuing the conversation as he and Dimitri make their way to the counter waiting ahead. "It was a hard thing to do, Fodlan unifying, because so many people had been engraved their identity upon the land they were in."   
  
A sigh rustles out from besides him, and Claude chuckles as Dimitri says, "People really do never change in the world. I knew this as a basic fact, and yet it still catches me off guard occasionally." Well, that's the joy of people being people, Claude supposes, as he shows the employee at the counter their room cards so that xie can confirm they're actually paying customers and not some randos who just wandered in. Even if the world changes and becomes so much stranger than it was a century ago, or even just a decade, well... People are still people, and learning from history will never lead someone astray in how people may react.  
  
Once they've been cleared, and sent off with the appropriate fluffy white robes that Claude is kind of looking forward to wearing, Claude picks up as they make their way down the pretty hallways. They're filled with stylish glass panes that show off various other services in the spa: nail salons for people who use other people as their hands with nails that long, comfy waiting rooms for those who've booked massages, various other little amenities of similar style. There's even a sign which says a gym is just down a certain hallway, which Claude keeps in mind, although he doubts that he'll use it in their short stay.   
  
They have a conversation to continue right now, anyway. "Anyway, like I was saying - when Fodlan was first unified, it was rather tricky to get them to concede to a unification in the first place. People are rather individualistic... and change can be frightening, no matter how mild." As they reach some rather spacious shower rooms, Claude smiles at Dimitri. "Although you seem to be handling the most sudden change of all rather calmly, and have ever since you first arrived. I wonder if that's because you know that you'll go home again soon?" Home being an entirely different time period.   
  
Dimitri smiles back at him, in that soft polite way of his. "Is that how it seems? Even with how rather foolishly and childishly excited I've gotten over things that are so mundane?"   
  
"Hey, isn't that better than a lot of the alternatives?" Claude winks, going over to a row of lockers and dropping his clean clothes down onto a nearby bench. Even all the fanciest spas in the world can't really change up too much from the classic bench, although these ones at least look to be made out of some pretty nice wood. "Anyway, let's clean ourselves up a bit, and then I can show you the sauna."  
  
Befitting such a fancy place, the showers are all given their own private little stalls so that people don't have to be too concerned on someone peeping in on them when they just want to just wash away the exertion and sweat of the day. No way for anyone to peep over the tops, or force open the doors unless there's an employee and it's for special emergencies.. Even if it's a little public, Claude doesn't feel too much shame at all.   
  
Likewise, Dimitri seems to have even less issues considering the way that he finishes up without any complaint towards the set up. He even sinks into the fluffy softness of the towels that are offered for them free of charge at a shelf stuffed full of the things, sighing with his eyelashes fluttering.   
  
"I know," Claude says, content. "I should honestly get the same ones for my apartment. There's nothing more satisfying than a nice shower, and then sinking into something warm and soft as you dry off. Right?"   
  
"They're very comfortable," Dimitri agrees, rubbing his cheek against the wonderful fabric. As he does so, Claude dares to glance over at his face properly. This entire time, he's never dared to breach the subject of Dimitri's eyepatch, and what lead to it.   
  
He knows it's, at the very least, pretty damn scarred. Most of the time, Dimitri's eyepatch does an admirable job in covering it all up, but eyepatches move. He sees little bits of scar tissue that will take a good long while to fully heal, if it ever does so at all... but he's never truly seen the extent. Even now, he's not sure of the depth, because Dimitri keeps his eyelid closed on the scarred half of his face.   
  
A part of him really wants to know... everything. He wants to know the depth. He wants to know the story behind it. He wants to know how much it hurts, or if the magic that is so prevalent in Dimitri's time helped heal away some of the aches that would otherwise last the rest of his life.   
  
Once upon a time, Claude might have actually dared to ask any of those questions, honestly. Maybe it was because he used to be the son of such an influential person, used to getting his way, or maybe just because he's always had more curiosity and a thirst of knowledge than he's had _sense_... But he might have dared to do it.   
  
Time and friends who've dared to gently cuff him upside the head (thanks, Leonie) have helped him move past the most impulsive of his desires, however. So Claude doesn't do it. He doesn't say a word. All he does is lightly pat Dimitri's elbow, with towels tied around both their waists now. "Anyway, if you think that's comfortable, then you should take a look at the sauna."   
  
What he thinks he's doing is giving Dimitri a friendly treat, something to help him enjoy the modern era even more, and maybe show that he won't mind whatever twist or turn the conversation takes them. What he _apparently_ ends up doing is subjecting Dimitri to an actual for-real hell, because Dimitri barely manages to sit down on one of the benches inside the steamy room before he lets out a soft noise with just enough of an audible misery to it. "Oh. This is. Very hot."   
  
Oh, right, right. Northern Fodlan is notorious for how cold it can get, and how high the snow can pile up when proper precautions aren't taken for places like the rails up there, or even just the average city street. And, well, add a person who's used to cold, into a place meant to reduce them to a pile of warm goo...  
  
"Want out of here?" he asks Dimitri. "Because there's plenty of other places to go to." It's not as though the hotel is particularly cold or anything. No doubt in every single place, they take care to make sure that the temperature is the perfect amount of middling, in consideration of their paying guests. Places like this need to satisfy reoccurring customers almost as much as restaurants do.   
  
And yet Dimitri shakes his head. "No... No, I can manage. This cannot be any worse than a hot spring, so I am certain I can conquer it." He sweeps his hair back, out of his face, and lightly pats his cheeks. "Still... This is rather quiet at this time of night. I thought for something so luxurious, there would be more people."   
  
Claude can't deny he's right there. There rest of the sauna is empty, and he only saw a person just entering the private rooms for what he presumes is a massage. He stretches his arms out in front of him.   
  
"Well, I imagine when it comes to the morning, or a little more in the afternoon, it becomes a lot more busy. People want to freshen up for the day ahead, or they want to relax after the day they've just had." He tilts his head back to grin at Dimitri. "We're inbetween those two periods, with how later the train arrived here and the time it took for us to get everything up into our room, including the armor, so... this much isn't that surprising. I bet there's a skeleton crew taking care of everything right now."   
  
"Skeleton crew..." Dimitri shakes his head. "What a morbid phrase; I cannot get used to it." He huffs a little when Claude laughs at him, but doesn't stop him from laughing at all. Really, the fascination that had radiated off of him when he'd first heard the term, and then the disappointment that had soon followed... Claude doesn't think he'll ever get tired of that memory. "Regardless... Perhaps this really is a stroke of good fortune for me. If the chances are low that someone will walk in on our conversation... Maybe this is exactly where I should speak to you regarding the matter from before."   
  
He's really prepared to talk about it in a sauna, of all places... Claude wonders if he'll be able to last through the whole time, considering the heat. "Is it something you feel confident enough when it comes to speaking in a place that isn't exactly private, or anything?"  
  
"I am afraid that if I hold back on it any longer, then I will lose my nerve," Dimitri confesses, sweeping his hair back so that it's not hanging around and sticking to his face. "I think... it may be for the better if I am honest with you as soon as possible. That just happens to be here, in this sauna."  
  
"If you say so," Claude agrees mildly, and can't help it that his gaze flicks down to Dimitri's chest as he says it. He knows it's a serious conversation, and he knows that he should at least be a little respectful in how he ogles up Dimitri, it's just... Dimitri so rarely strips down like this around him.   
  
It's honestly kind of funny, because Claude had assumed that the guy from the past would be more relaxed about occasionally getting shirtless around friends and such. However, while Claude has occasionally stripped from the waist up on his way to his bedroom after a day of work, Dimitri has always held back so that he could make it to the spare room.   
  
Once, Claude hadn't really noticed that little quirk. Nowadays, however, as he's grown more aware with his attraction to the other man, well... It's gotten to be a lot. It feels like he notices every little thing, every habit and change, and finds himself just... helplessly interested in it all.   
  
If he's honest, it's kind of frustrating. All this time, he's been trying to smother his feelings towards Dimitri as much as possible... but, of course, it feels like they've only become stronger because of it. Which he feels is pretty much a huge cheat, honestly.   
  
He lets out a slow breath, and refocuses. Alright. He needs to get a handle on himself again. "So, what is it that you want to talk about?" he asks Dimitri, looking at his face. At least Dimitri is looking straight ahead instead of at him - maybe to bring up his nerves, as he was talking about earlier.   
  
"About that..." Steeling himself, Dimitri finally looks down to him, and his hand curls into a loose fist along one of his knees. "Claude, I have not been entirely honest with you. There are things which I have kept a secret, even though you have been considerably more honest with me."   
  
Ha. As if Claude had said that of his own free will, instead of a lot of things sort of forcing his hand, with truth actually being the safer solution... He's sort of had to be honest. It's his time period, after all, and Dimitri is the one living with him, instead of the other way around. Keeping secrets would have just been a danger to them both... and even then, Claude has kept a lot of other secrets from Dimitri, since it's not vital for them living together, or Dimitri acting as his bodyguard.   
  
So for Dimitri to have a couple of secrets of his own... "I think that's just expected," he says casually, leaning back with his palms flat against the bench. "You're in a strange place, with a strange guy-"   
  
"You are not strange!"   
  
Claude laughs at him. "You say despite gravely insulting me not that long ago!" he teases, and he likes to think that Dimitri's face goes a little more red because of embarrassment instead of the sauna, although the blond still manages to smile for a fleeting moment. "But like I was saying... That sort of thing isn't really a surprise, and it's not like a lot of secrets you have could probably harm me. Although..." He tilts his head to the side. "If you felt it was so important that you had to speak with me, then I guess that's not entirely true, is it...?"   
  
Dimitri quietly clasps his hands together in front of him. "I do not think it would hurt you," he says quietly. "I would have bit off my own tongue, and spilled my innards upon the floor before hurting you-"   
  
"So, I don't think we have to go that far."  
  
"-and no secret of mine would be worth keeping if it caused you harm." Another deep breath. Claude is glad to see that Dimitri has mastered it, with how tense and anxious it seems like he can get sometimes. Even better, it seems to be a habit from his time, instead of picked up when he arrived here. "This is merely.... important in another way."   
  
With that said, he adjusts himself on the bench, partially turning around so that he can face Claude more properly. That blue eye of his looks like it's so deep... Claude could get lost in it.   
  
"Claude... I am the rightful king to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus."   
  
He blinks. "Oh," Claude says. "I knew that."   
  
Whatever reaction he thought he'd get, Dimitri _absolutely_ wasn't expecting that. He pauses, staring at Claude, before he looks to the side for a moment as his poor little brain stutters and glitches out trying to take in those words. Slowly, he looks back. "What?" Dimitri says, so confused it's pitiful.... and kind of adorable.   
  
Claude's mouth spasms as he fights not to laugh, and he settles for a quick wink instead. "I mean, it wasn't that hard to figure out, you know? Dimitri has always been a pretty common name, especially up north in the lands which were Faerghus once was, but, well... There's a certain period of time where it was _super_ popular for a while...   
  
"Additionally, well, you _did_ arrive in a fully outfitted armor made out of plate, and the kind that's been kept care, too. I'm no expert on the matter, but that's not something the average commoner from those ages would have. So that already gave you away as at least some form of noble.   
  
"Additionally, despite popular belief in this time, I'm well aware that not all people from the past spoke in the exact same kind of fancy manner." Claude raises his eyebrows, still grinning. "The refined and careful way you speak told me that you definitely had an education, and the kind of life where your presentation and manner had an affect on various things.   
  
"And finally, the last nail in the metaphorical coffin... When you were first putting away your armor into the box, way back when we first met, I got a good glimpse of the emblem that was on the back of your cloak. Everyone knows that the Kingdom of Faerghus used to have a blue lion as its symbol, and, well...." Claude trails off, laughing as Dimitri sinks his face into his hands.   
  
"I was truly that obvious this entire time?" Dimitri groans, voice muffled.   
  
Reaching over, Claude pats his back. That it's absolutely slick from all the sweat doesn't bother him; they _are_ in a sauna. "I mean, to be fair, not a lot of people absorb random tidbits of knowledge like I do," he concedes. "But it _is_ obvious if you know various basic facts about that period in time... and a lot of people do." When Dimitri finally peeks out from behind his hands, Claude smiles at him. "I'm sure I told you before, when we were first trying to get the facts set straight about what time periods we're both from... But the unification of Fodlan was a really big deal. Of course little facts about _you_ in particular are going to be incredibly well known."   
  
Sighing, Dimitri drags his hands down his face. "I suppose you did mention that... Yet you never brought up anything about who I truly was, and you continued to simply treat me like any other person. It's not that I'm complaining about that," he adds hastily, jerking his head up as he looks at Claude. "Rather... I was rather relieved to be treated like another person, simply someone's equal who could help or work on things to make a relationship better.   
  
"It was always a problem, back in my time... So many people rarely even used my actual name. Beyond that, there were people who would view me as some all encompassing savior who would solve all their problems... Or a terrible enemy that would destroy everything they cared about." Dimitri looks away, his smile just a little brittle. "There was no inbetween where I was permitted to be just a human."   
  
"Well... I can say I understand that, at least, to some degree." Claude tilts his head back, staring at the ceiling. With his family, there's a similar expectation in play. They're all such well known figures in Almyra that people have all their own opinions... even without having met a single one of his family. He'd be a liar if he said it didn't feel... isolating. Long before he ever learned to craft a mask of his own, to keep himself safe and advance his goals, he'd been placed one by the overall public, by every single bit of news media or celebrity site.   
  
It's being a person without being a person.   
  
At his side, Dimitri's smile becomes just a little stronger, a little more warm. "Yes... It really has felt like you do understand. Still, you treated me as _such_ a normal person, that, well..." He shakes his head, and looks to Claude again. "If you knew all this time, why did you not say anything? What made you treat me as just another person?"   
  
"Oh, isn't it obvious?" Claude grins. "I didn't see a reason to."   
  
"...What?"   
  
Pushing himself up and stretching his arms up over his head, Claude winks at Dimitri over his shoulder. "You might have been the king of Faerghus at one point in time, but that's not the time I'm living. Why should I care if you're a king back then? And even if I did... I'm going to be the king of Almyra one day, you know. As far as _I'm_ concerned, that puts us on equal level."   
  
Face burning red as he's called out, all Dimitri can do is stare. "Oh," he says weakly.   
  
Claude lightly taps at his shoulder, walking past him. "Yup," is all he says. "Anyway, let's get out of here. You look like you're going to boil alive."  
  
Clad in their fluffy hotel robes, the two of them make their way back into the locker rooms. A couple more people have dropped in for whatever reason - Claude can recognize an employee going through to make sure everyone is fine and that no one has fainted from overexertion or staying too long in the sauna.   
  
Claude makes sure that Dimitri has a moment to freshen himself with some cooler water, and get a nice drink to help refresh himself from all the sweat he poured out before. Of course, none of this makes any time for them to really... _continue_ their conversation from before.   
  
Only when they've finally slipped into their room does Claude looks back at Dimitri, plucking at the front of his shirt like that can help cool him down from the lingering sauna heat, even though they've traveled so far from it. "Hey... If you hadn't said anything about being king, everything would have gone on just like normal. What made you decide that it was something so important that you had to tell me about it?"   
  
Having scoped out the room to make sure there's no _people_ having somehow broke in, and Claude having done the same on the technological front, Dimitri pauses. Perhaps he'd forgotten that there might be more to this conversation, or his brain had overheated after their trip down to the spa. Either way, he needs another moment to clasp his hands in front of his stomach, one hand curling over the other fist. "...Could you sit down, Claude?"  
  
This really must be serious. Claude goes over to the small little table and chairs that have been set up for them, twisting it around about by the back until it's facing the rest of the room more. "Alright," he says, sinking down. "What's got you so serious...?"   
  
Stepping forward, Dimitri closes his eye. "I thought... it would perhaps be fine if I were to tell you nothing of the past which held me to it. As you say, there is nothing about it that holds much value in this current present. And yet, slowly, I've started to realize something. I've realized that, even if it does not have a solid and tangible effect... It was still something important, a part of me that I can't simply ignore. Because..." Another step forward, and Dimitri sinks down to one knee before Claude, as fine as any knight in any historical drama. "Because I've come to love you in the time that I have been here, Claude, and it would not be right to tell you as such without telling you something so valuable."   
  
Oh.   
  
Claude's brain stutters, in time with his heart. Oh. What? No, that can't be right. He had to misheard - or he's misunderstood, there has to be something with just, the, the culture differences between two vastly different time periods separated by centuries. Claude stares for a moment, trying to find a way that this _isn't_ true. Yet no matter how much he looks down at Dimitri, he can't find anything else but just.... pure honest adoration in that one eyed gaze.  
  
It feels as though he's stopped breathing. What he feels emotionally, however, fortunately has no bearing with what he feels physically, in the real world, and Claude lets out a slow and shaky breath. "I mean," he says, mind running on autopilot, mouth running with no one behind the steering wheel, "I guess I should feel honored or something, that I've gotten someone like you interested. But..." Reaching up, he sweeps his fingers through his hair. "Dimitri... Are you _sure_ you want to tell this to me? I mean - you're not really meant to stay in this time period at all, and I'm not really sure how viable that would be in the first place."   
  
"I truly did struggle with making a decision," Dimitri admits, not looking away from him. "I thought... it might not be fair to you, to take on a lover like myself, and then for me to disappear. I thought it would be... reckless, and cruel to your heart. Did I have the right to do something like that? I thought that I couldn't have... and so I kept quiet, hoping it was enough to merely stay by your side, and help you where my hands could reach. But then I realized... I was looking down on you, in that way."   
  
Despite the conversation, Claude can't help his wry smile. "You're the only one who would describe it that way."   
  
"It's true," Dimitri insists, leaning forward slightly. "When I made that decision... I was thinking of my feelings only as they applied to myself. I thought that it was my decision alone. But that was foolish, wasn't it? After all... If I have feelings for you... What if you reciprocate? What if you do not, and would prefer I change my behavior in some way? The feelings that I possess for you... are not the kind of feelings that are meant for one person. Love, no matter its exact form, never is. You should get a say in this love... and I would not begrudge you for any choice you make on the matter."   
  
A part of Claude wants to test that decision immediately. He wants to ask if Dimitri would leave the room if Claude were uncomfortable, how he would prove this love of his, so many other questions and challenges - for what? As Claude stares down at him, at that earnest gaze which would give him the world if he only asked, Claude knows why he doesn't say it.   
  
Dimitri would do it. Without question. Without hesitation. He has given something precious to Claude, with no expectation or demand that it be placed in a spot of glory upon the insides of Claude's heart.  
  
It's a strange feeling - not being given Dimitri's heart, but the tender way it's been placed into his hands. And worse... Claude can feel his own heart ache just as tenderly. It takes a lot of control for him to breathe in, to get a handle on himself. "I don't think... it would be good for me to give the answer that you would hope for," Claude says, his words careful. Not _want_ \- what Dimitri _wants_ is very clear. But... hope. "You're incredible, Dimitri, but... I can't do it." He won't let himself.   
  
There's only a smile on Dimitri's lips. Soft. Accepting. "Then you need not do it," he says softly. "Is there anything else I can give you, Claude, in light of what I've just said?"   
  
What Claude wants, he knows that Dimitri can't give him. It's not something that's in either of their hands. So all he can do is focus on simple reality. "Honestly, I think the best thing for both of us is to just keep acting as we have been," he says, and his smile this time is at least a little more practiced. A little more like "himself". What else can he do in such a situation but smile? "You don't have to change from how you've been before, Dimitri." And him... He'll try not to make this situation worse for the both of them, he supposes.   
  
Fortunately, maybe the Saints are actually taking them into consideration - or they just have really good luck, because there's a knock on the door, and the small communication system by the door lights up as a polite voice declares itself as room service. Dimitri immediately rises, and Claude doesn't think he's wrong in that relief rolls off of Dimitri. "Then - I will get our dinners, and we can turn in for the night."   
  
It's a good plan. Really, it's the only real solid plan that the two of them have, isn't it? Dimitri carefully checks the person outside under a guise of polite friendliness, and Claude double checks their food for any traces of poison or drugs. Together, they sit, and eat the pasta they both decided they'd try for tonight... and, eventually, they go to sleep.   
  
Dimitri keeps his word, because of course he does. It's Dimitri. He makes sure that everything is cleaned up for the two of them, and politely excuses himself so that he can change into his pajamas in the bathroom. When he's done, he offers to let Claude do the same, or at least he starts to before realizing that Claude has changed into a tee shirt and sweatpants of his own. They turn in for the night. It's all very simple, very plain, very easy.   
  
It should be easy. Claude wants it to be easy. Yet as the two of them lay there in the absolute darkness that comes from having the curtains drawn as shut as possible, all he wants to do is turn his head as if he can watch Dimitri just a couple of meters away, sleeping sound in his own bed. It's agony, just laying there in the dark, listening to the steady rhythm of their breathing start to sync up.  
  
What would have happened if he'd said yes, Claude wonders... Would Dimitri have fussed and insisted that the two of them stay in their separate beds for now? Would he have assumed they'd both simply share one? Could Claude have convinced him into it? What would it have been like, to rest his head upon that broad chest and listen to the reassuring rhythm of Dimitri's heart?  
  
He's always asked a lot of questions, to himself and the world at large. They've never ached quite like this.


	4. Midnight

The first mine they visit apparently used to be for coal, and it's a massive thing, a hole in the earth that's left a rather terrible scar. It's costly to buy, too, and Claude understands quite well when he finally gets to go through the place in person. Coal is something that requires quite a bit of heavy lifting to move around, after all, and that inevitably means tunnels that are honestly quite massive.   
  
It would work pretty decently for Claude's purposes, he does have to admit... But as him and Dimitri make their way to one of the entrances, he takes in how much equipment was left behind to rust with vegetation growing around it. Moving all of that would take a whole lot of time, effort, and cash...   
  
"I visited mines on occasion, back home," Dimitri says, mindful of the guide that is accompanying them through the tunnels - always someone good to have in case of accidents and the like. "Yet a mine like this... is far more impressive than I would have ever thought it to be."   
  
Claude faintly wonders how he can speak so casually, considering the conversation they had only the other night. Then again, maybe Dimitri is wondering the same about him when he turns his head to look back at the blond with a smile on his face. "They were positive that they'd hit a big load, way back when this mine was at all relevant. It was kind of a historical thing, actually, because they had to convince Duscur that they wouldn't dig over onto that land... I don't think anything bad came out of that, however."   
  
"Well, that is a relief, in more ways than one." Dimitri fumbles with his own flashlight, taking a look at the string of lightbulbs that go throughout the tunnel. "I suppose these would be one more thing you would need to replace..."   
  
"Oh, definitely." Once upon a time, Claude would have indulged himself, and leaned against Dimitri's side or his back to inspect the bulbs. He doesn't this time. "For one thing, those are so old I suspect they'd explode if we made them work again. But honestly, they're just not connected to the right kind of system. This far up in northern lands... We'll have to think carefully, go through all the old articles on the weather around here and what scientists predict is in the future, to decide on the right kind of energy gathering system that will work out best here."  
  
Thank god this is a business trip. Claude is more than happy to ramble on about the needs of Verdant Wind, and what exactly will have to go into the mine until it's in decent shape to be used for their purposes. That at least helps both of them avoid talking or thinking about the knowledge which hangs so ripe between them.   
  
Dimitri is more than happy to listen as well; he always is. "If I were born in this place, I wonder if I would have become - a person who deals with this kind of technology," he says, fumbling to be subtle as they step out from the tunnels after a nice long inspection. "It's all so amazing... and it does such important work."   
  
"You want to be an engineer or a technician?" Claude asks, grinning. It's not the first thing he would have thought of, honestly, not with how Dimitri already has some skills in leadership as a king, and is even better when it comes to physical matters. Maybe he really _would_ have been a bodyguard if he'd been around in this time period, or maybe he would have been something else - a boxer, a MMA fighter, a P.E. teacher for kids. His gaze flicks towards their guide, but they've wandered off a little to answer their phone, so it should be fine to talk. "Well, if you really wanted to look into that, it would likely take a while... but I don't think that's a bad dream at all."   
  
Dimitri's smile is soft, the kind of thing he wants to reach up and - nope, he'll just stop himself right there. "You always are so encouraging," Dimitri says softly. "I doubt I will be able to make any strides towards that at all, especially with how things are, but I am glad to hear your encouragement nonetheless, Claude."   
  
Right... How things are. In other words, Dimitri couldn't even finish catching up with the basic education of this place, meshing it with what he's learned as royalty, before he'd likely be tugged back to his time period. It's another reminder of their very unique situation, and certainly not the first time that Claude has thought about it, or remembered its existence.. Yet the pang in his heart...   
  
Their guide finishes up their phone call, and they all make it back to the city proper. Yet they finished quicker than Claude thought they would... The sun is still in the sky when they all leave their shared ride, and he folds his hands behind his head.   
  
"Well, it would be a shame if we headed back to the hotel so quickly to do nothing but lounge around after packing our things for the train tomorrow," he tells Dimitri. "Why don't I show you around? I _did_ tell you that there would be some interesting places to visit around here that have stuck around since ye olden days."   
  
Dimitri snorts, which he then hastily tries to cover up by coughing into his hand. "Must you describe it that way?" Dimitri asks, smiling a little in a way he can't completely hide.  
  
"Absolutely," Claude says casually, gesturing for Dimitri to follow him along. "I've heard that they actually have an arena around here where they do plays, sports, and historical re-enactments - all sorts of stuff. It's the pride of this place. Oh boy, I should tell you about some of the drama that has happened around it before... They've kept a lot of the base structure around, and taken _sooooo_ much care with how they've modernized the place."   
  
Not leaving his side for even a moment, Dimitri smiles a little more honestly with his hand swinging back down. "It really must be a treasured place, then, for them to deal with it so delicately."   
  
"That's putting it lightly. I think if anyone insults this place and it's not crystal clear that they're joking, the locals around here jump them in alleys." Claude laughs. "One of the most recent dramas was a few years ago. There was this big name coach from out of town that they were considering for a baseball team, right? But he was trying to throw his weight around... Said that if they wanted him, then the city would have to either revamp the arena _completely_ , or make a whole new place, complete with all sorts of stupid demands."   
  
Dimitri holds out his hand, making him pause before they cross a street. A good idea, honestly, with how busy and bustling the place is... Although not nearly as much as Derdriu. That's probably a weird thing to be proud of. Once they're both on the opposite side of the street, Dimitri finally shakes his head. "That seems like putting a rather lot of value on one's own self..."   
  
"Oh, hey, he was full of it." Claude snorts. "I think he was from out of the country? Which, I'm _obviously_ not knocking, but there are some things you really have to figure out in regards to what people will outright slug you for so much as suggesting when you move somewhere. Sometimes, that means doing your research, like I did. Other times, that means having an entire city whirl on you to the point that you not only lose the job you were being scouted for, but are blacklisted from that city completely."   
  
"...That is impressive, and more than a little frightening, especially all in the name of a single building."   
  
Claude laughs. "That's the power of unity in a time where we can indulge peacefully," he says. "We turn on asshole coaches who disrespect a local landmark instead of turning on other countries. I personally think it's much better."   
  
Certainly it's much more peaceful as the two of them make their way through the city, enjoying the air and people as they do so. Derdriu is a place entirely its own, with so much of it relating to the seafront. After being away from Almyra for so long, it's kind of funny to be in a completely landlocked kind of city again... Claude admires it as the two of them walk, picking up pretzels on the way.   
  
"Thank you, by the way," Dimitri says suddenly, as they're waiting for a rush of traffic to pass them by.   
  
Claude glances back up at him. "Thanks for what?"  
  
Dimitri clears his throat, nervous again, before he pushes forward. "Thank you for... still treating me as you did before I confessed to you. While it would have been well within your right to react in whatever manner you so chose, I still worried about it. Being at your side is something precious, and I am relieved to find that you are still comfortable enough with me to allow it."   
  
Chuckling, Claude nudges him across the street. They're getting closer now, he can tell. "Well... Regardless of my own personal feelings, it really has made me happy to introduce you to all sorts of new things, here in Fodlan. When I think about just... not doing it, because of things between us, I feel kind of bad. I like watching your face light up when you get to see something new, and you like, well, a whole lot of things. It'd be a waste to not do any of that now."   
  
There it is. There's that soft, adoring smile that sucker punches him every single time. Claude should know better to encourage it, but he can't stop himself from wanting to see it shine.   
  
"You truly are an incredible person, Claude," Dimitri murmurs, and, ugh, his heart is going to stop every time he acts like that. Before Claude can hastily come up with something to move the conversation away from him, or them, or anything to do with anything, he fortunately gets to a distraction all its own. Looking up to make sure they're not about to walk into another pedestrian or traffic, Dimitri perks up. "That's- It's the Charon Stadium!"   
  
Eyes sparkling, Claude tilts his head up to look at the circular building towering over them. The city has really grown bigger in the time that the stadium was first built, so it's no longer the most massive place around... But somehow, with how much loving care has been put into its maintenance and any restoration efforts alongside modernizing its insides, it still manages to look rather majestic. Even now, plenty of people are going in and out of its doors, and there are security guards at the gates.   
  
"Come on." He hurries with Dimitri across the road, and makes a beeline for the doors leading inside. "On the days that there aren't any huge events, like a big sports game, this place stays open to the general public as a sort of museum. I'm sure you'll love it." Stopping in front of a small ticket counter that's right inside the Charon Stadium, Claude doesn't waste any time in getting a pair of day passes.   
  
"A museum..." Dimitri grins widely as he accepts his own pass, and a chuckle rolls out of him. "If only she could hear how it had changed now..."  
  
So someone who was from the once famous and somewhat independent House of Charon, huh? Or maybe someone who had simply admired the land. It's really too soon to say with such little information. Claude starts to guide Dimitri along, with already a lot of screens showing off various events scheduled for the month, and when people can expect the Charon Stadium to be closed down as it prepares for a big event or match. Those are all perfectly fine, but they're not what Claude is interested in.   
  
Rather, he goes over to one of the interactive maps, and starts tapping around the screen as different pop ups appear in response to different rooms he touches. "It looks like they have a lot of different things right now," he hums, gaze skimming over it all in curiosity. This might have been sold as something for Dimitri, but... He's actually really interested himself. "There's some artifacts from a nearby excavation site on display, but that might be a little awkward for you..." He doesn't say why. Dimitri merely nods. He gets it. "Hey, how about this artist exhibition that's gone on? There's a lot of big names here, and I don't think you've had a chance to really enjoy modern art. Well.... At least a small portion of modern art."   
  
"I know modern art," Dimitri insists, although he's more than happy to follow Claude along as he picks a direction to go in. "I have seen a great deal of how art has changed over on the internet. I've even seen some ahneemay!"  
  
Claude chokes on his own air supply, and isn't entirely certain on how he makes it to the first room with some fascinating abstract studies. "It's anime," he wheezes, and almost doubles over when Dimitri smacks him on the back to help his poor airways. Gulping down air again, Claude straightens up and swipes some mirthful tears from his eyes. "Hoo! But while that's most certainly art, and it's most certainly a product of our modern era, that's somewhat different from the _modern art_ that fancy rich people like to buy and which certain art critics fawn over."   
  
"Still the same..." Claude laughs again. At this point, those words are starting to become Dimitri's catchphrase.   
  
It's fascinating, to see the range of art that has presented itself, different artists displaying themselves in different ways. The abstract art is striking in its use of color, but the next room after it details something a little more Impressionist, with a particular use of brushstrokes that makes Claude feel something down in the thick of him. Dimitri adores every single painting they come across, taking it all in with a quiet appreciation.   
  
As they walk into the next room, it distantly occurs to Claude that this kind of thing... is rather like a date. It hadn't _always_ been like a date, he's pretty sure, even if he'd teased his friends about it and been teased about it in turn. After all, back then, he'd known - or at least he thought he'd known - that they weren't really thinking those kinds of thoughts or having those kinds of feelings about one another. It had simply been a way to show Dimitri the rest of the modern world, and make him a little happy.   
  
But this... Claude glances up at Dimitri from the corner of his eye, a subtle little maneuver. It's different, now. Dimitri outright admitted to him that he loves him, and Claude - well it's not like he denied any feelings on _his_ end. Just... that he couldn't give Dimitri anything. And now the two of them are enjoying a cute little afternoon out, walking side by side as they enjoy art and playfully talk about this and that... Shit. He was just trying to show Dimitri a good time, but this is really something of a date, isn't it...?   
  
Dimitri doesn't seem to notice. Frankly, Claude isn't sure that 'dating' was really a thing back in the time of Faerghus, was it...? Then again, that might just be one of those fake ideas about the past, like how people are always so surprised that jeans have been around longer than just the turn of the century, or whatever.   
  
So Claude doesn't feel any less reassured as Dimitri marvels at the detailing that has gone into one statue that's put on display smack dab in the middle of the room. "If the plaque had not told me that every single thing was carved from stone, I would have merely gone on with the impression that was rope draped across the statue..."  
  
Right. Statues. "Some people really do know how to handle stone, I suppose," he says with a chuckle. "You know how to use the camera app on your phone now, right? If you want, you can grab a few pictures to show everyone back home. I'm sure Lorenz and Ignatz would have a _ton_ to talk about with this sort of stuff. They'd love it."   
  
"Is that permitted?" Because of course Dimitri fusses about every little thing. While that's a valid point to worry about in an art museum, that's only in the case of certain pieces, Claude is pretty sure, and there's never been any harm in taking a picture of a statue. Additionally, Claude can say all that quite confidently because he can nod over at a small sign saying that pictures are permitted, and leave it at that. Dimitri looks a little embarrassed - Claude is pretty sure it's just average generalized embarrassment now, although he thought that about all the times before too - but smiles. "Then... Please wait a moment, Claude."   
  
Shrugging, Claude steps back with a smile. "Take all the time you need. I'll be fine, Dimitri." He has his eyes set on a small bench set to the side, himself, but he can get there after a moment.   
  
Instead, he slowly wanders about on the outskirts of the gallery, taking in the various smaller statues that were created, and inevitably drifting closer to an open entryway that has been neatly barred off. Stretched across is a simple thick rope strung across itself that's at around waist height. _Exhibit Closed: Please do not enter_ the sign hanging from it reads.   
  
Well, not everything can be up all the time. Claude wonders if the Stadium forgot to hire another artist to show off, or if something interfered in their schedules, or any number of things that could have happened.   
  
A light crash suddenly draws his attention - fortunately not the crash of stone or marble or pottery hitting the floor, but just the average and much more blunt crash of one person colliding with another. He looks back into the main gallery area. There's a couple of kids, preteens maybe, who are on the ground, and Dimitri has crouched down to fuss over them. It paints a pretty clear picture, honestly. But really, who let their kids run around in here?   
  
Around the time that Claude's brain thinks that, he's suddenly pulled over the rope and into the dark, empty art gallery.   
  
One hand slips over his mouth, muffling any yell he would make, and he can tell that there's another person already involved as he's dragged through the empty room and towards the side - another door is there. Claude's body tenses up, but then he forces himself to relax, has his body go limp as his gaze flicks through the empty room.   
  
Pretty bold of them to do it right in public like this, right there in broad daylight, but maybe - well, he can think about a whole lot of things later. For now, he lets himself go limp even as his eyes remain bright and sharp. He's dragged past a door that's held open - two people directly involved so far, good to know.   
  
With Claude's own reactions, and all of them now out of sight from a stray eye, the goon who has a hold on him relaxes his grip. Really, how unprofessional. Don't they know that's all Claude needs to suddenly rear back his head, and smash straight onto the prick's nose?   
  
There's a sharp curse, and Claude finds his feet on the ground, although the arms are still around his body. He doesn't stop. He slams his boot down onto the foot beneath him. It doesn't make Prick 1 let go of him completely, but it loosens the grip, Claude's body pulls free, and he jackass kicks backwards to push prick further away. There's a thud - body hitting wall. Claude takes it, spins away from the pair of people, his back to whatever lies in the emptiness of whatever this hallway is.  
  
It's the better option. In front of him, two assholes with ski masks shoved over their faces eye him up, one of them having recovered where they were shoved against the wall. Claude really hopes that they don't have a third party in the immediate area. For now, he acts like he assumes they don't, acts like the world is in the palm of his hand, and he smirks lazily.   
  
"You know, I thought it had been a little too quiet lately... But oh boy! You guys really must be desperate. This kind of thing is disappointingly sloppy. Did I throw your schedule off? I must have-" One of them makes a move towards him, and he moves back, reaches out for the first thing that seems grabbable. It's just a clipboard, but he'll take it. That's enough to make them pause, at any rate, as they decide a course of action for someone they no doubt weren't expecting to be so troublesome. "I must have thrown your schedule off," Claude continues, like he didn't stop. "This doesn't seem exactly _prepared_ , you know."   
  
Everything out of his mouth is just useless chatter; Claude knows that. But the more he buys the time, the better it is for him, so that he can figure out a way to escape from this situation. Certainly it seems to be frustrating his would-be kidnappers... or are they just thugs?   
  
Hell. Maybe he'll just ask. "So, what's the special occasion?" he asks casually. "I think you've realized by this point that I'm not just a pretty face, so sweeping me away like a deconstructed knight on shining armor really isn't going to work. Were you trying to steal my wallet? Threaten me? I'm in suspense over here."   
  
So far as he can tell, he has two options. He can try to shove his way past the two goons, and through the door they shoved him in. It'll lead him to the public museum areas.   
  
It's risky... He'll have to bank on getting his way past two people in a rather enclosed space. Claude is more than a lot of people bargain for, because this is absolutely not the first time he's had to keep his own skin safe, but he's not sure even he can do that, and in such a tight squeeze... But the reward is pretty high, considering he could make all _sorts_ of noise that would get immediate attention.   
  
One of the goons moves, and Claude jauntily waves the clipboard in the air, like it's really any kind of solid weapon. The alternative is hoping he gets lucky in running through the little back hall areas of the museum, but will that really work out for-   
  
The door breaks down right off its fucking hinges, and into one of the goons.   
  
Goon 1 goes down. Goon 2 barely has time to turn around before a hand is closing around their face, and smacking them into the wall, making their knees buckle. Dimitri tosses them to the ground without a single damn care, and presses his boot down on the door that's pinning the first goon to the floor. Immediately, his gaze sweeps around, looks for more threats... and, when he finds none, it settles back onto Claude again, all concern. "Claude! Are you alright?"   
  
Claude lowers his clipboard and grins for a moment, gesturing for Dimitri to come closer to him. The second Dimitri takes so much as a step, Claude clears his voice and starts to yell. "HELP! Help! Someone, anyone, help, assault!"   
  
Eye wide, Dimitri understands immediately what he's doing, and scurries over to latch onto him like he thinks _he's_ going to get in trouble. Goon 2, who'd gotten their face slammed into a wall, struggles to get up and almost visibly pales when there's the sound of other voices.   
  
Their buddy underneath the floor doesn't seem to be in much better condition, hurrying to push the door off of himself. They don't really have a lot of options themselves, now, however - a delightful turn of events that Claude won't complain about.   
  
Dimitri holds him even closer, and Claude can only _imagine_ the look that's on his face as he stares down at the two. That's around the time the goons make an executive decision, scrambling to get up to their feet and practically lunging out of the empty space where a door once was. Claude can hear Stadium security run into them not too far outside, no doubt in the statue area where they all were before.   
  
Claude listens to it like it's sweet music, before he looks up at Dimitri. "You're really living up to the bodyguard job," he tells him, grinning. "I wasn't sure if you would have realized where I went."  
  
"You would never have abandoned me like that," Dimitri says sincerely, arm squeezing around him. Then, he helps guide Claude outwards, into the museum proper again.   
  
They end up having to stick around the museum a good while longer, because of that. Of course they do - there are a ton of questions to answer. Claude tells them the basic facts of the matter, which coincidentally take away a lot of his suspicions and theories, like how it definitely has to do with Golden Deer.   
  
Because of that, instead of the many other chargers that could be levied against them, they're nailed instead for attempted robbery and assault. Dimitri was _clearly_ acting in self defense of an innocent person, so he gets nothing. With that, the two of them are carted off to a correction facility that will help assign them lawyers, along with any therapy that might be necessary for assault on another person.   
  
Who knows? Claude muses the whole thing as him and Dimitri return to their hotel room, which is combed over with even more intensity than before. In the correctional facilities, they're given all the tools to help get them out of whatever abysmal situation would have had them trying to kidnap someone in the first place. Sure, sometimes people who do that kind of dirty job are just pure assholes who are looking for a reason to be bastards... but, more often than not, there are other factors in place that lead them to the situation.   
  
Well it's not his problem; the state can handle that. The fact of the matter is that he doesn't have to deal with them, and he managed to get pictures of their faces so he can pass some more information down along to Lorenz.   
  
Instead, he flops back with a sigh. "I was so looking forward to some more of the food from around here," he whines, while Dimitri gingerly puts down some delicious fake fried chicken down besides his head. "But it's fried food tonight... The train better not derail or anything tomorrow. I just want to eat some delicious food, and arrive in the next town safely."   
  
"So that's all you're worried about after an assault like that..." Dimitri chuckles, sitting down on his own bed. For a moment, Claude sort of misses his presence right alongside him, and then he snaps out of it. Right. It would be kind of selfish to ask him for that, after he'd turned Dimitri away in the first place... As Claude pushes himself up, Dimitri begins to work on his own food. He even has a napkin spread out on his lap.... Cute. "But do you really think anyone will go after the train?"   
  
Picking up a drumstick out of habit, even though the fake 'bone' is edible, Claude takes a bite thoughtfully. "Honestly... I doubt they would do something dramatic with a train. Judging by the kind of people and the kind of attacks that have been tossed at me so far, they've been pretty small time and frantic... If it were more professional and if it was really serious, then they'd have hired, like... a hitman, or something."   
  
Across from him, Dimitri frowns. "...Do you want me to look for hitmen in the next cities?"   
  
"When you say it like that, it makes you sound like you want to hire one yourself," Claude notes in amusement, trying not to get anything on the pretty sheets of the hotel bed. There's no reason to be shitty to whoever comes in to clean up after them once they live tomorrow morning. "Anyway, don't worry about it. I think this is the extent to which we can expect trouble: rash attacks by two bit goons. Honestly, it was my fault for wandering so near to a dark empty space like that... In a horror movie, I'd be the first to bite the bullet, ha!"   
  
Dimitri frowns at him. "Being attacked would never be your fault," he says quietly, still so achingly sincere even for stuff that honestly doesn't matter. "It is the fault of those who make those decisions in the first place. Still... I'm glad." Another pause, and he peeks up shyly from beneath his bangs. "You didn't react badly when I held you closely... I was worried I was overstepping my bounds."  
  
"You overstepping your bounds was meant to keep me safe, so I don't think it was overstepping at all," Claude chuckles. Still, Dimitri saying that... just reminds Claude all over again of how it had felt to be held so close to him. Ugh. He's going to be having dreams about that for ages, isn't he? "Anyway, it was fine. You don't have to worry. Although I will say... don't you have some dragons to check on?"   
  
"Do not tease me, Claude...! I can do nothing with my fingers so filthy!"   
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Nothing happens on the train. Nothing happens in the town they go to, or in the town they travel to after that. Dimitri sticks by his side the entire time, barely allowing him to go to the bathroom on his own.   
  
Claude would complain, except that's kind of exactly what he wants Dimitri to do. The first time they were jumped, it was because Dimitri was preoccupied. The second time, it was because Dimitri had been separate from him for even a second. If sticking by each other helps ensure that the rest of the journey ends safely...   
  
Well, let's just say that it's by far one of the easiest choices that Claude has had to make, and he's more than glad to make it.   
  
Whether it's because Dimitri doesn't allow even a single opening or simply because Claude's mystery enemy is running out of tricks, they manage to make it to the final city in perfectly fine piece. The hotel this time is a little less opulent, preferring a style that's a bit more modern and minimalistic.   
  
Lorenz and Raphael are already there by the time they arrive, and Raphael is more than delighted to assist Dimitri with his armor box while Lorenz takes some of their luggage. "Was all this truly necessary?" the latter asks, giving a couple of lifts of one suitcase.   
  
"You know it," Claude says with a wink. "Now let's get going, it looks like Raphael is going to lift Dimitri off of his feet in a hug soon if we don't get all our luggage put away." Because Raphael is definitely the kind of guy who would dump anything else he was holding to greet a friend... and considering he has Dimitri's box of armor hefted up onto his shoulder, well, that would be kind of a bad thing. "We can catch up in me and Dimitri's hotel room, anyway."   
  
And in their cases.... There's a lot to catch up on. It doesn't take very long to check into the hotel, and definitely not very long to move all their stuff up to their hotel room with Dimitri and Raphael both helping carry everything. Soon enough, they're dumping everything down, and Claude is pointing out places for Lorenz to check as they make sure the room isn't bugged.   
  
When they're finally all done, Lorenz tries not to outright flop into one of the armchairs, instead trying to make it a little more _posh_ by crossing his arms and legs as he sits. "Honestly... What should have been a very simple business trip has become quite dangerous, it seems... If I had known this, then, from the start, I would have made sure that other people were with you when you first set off."   
  
"I'm not sure what good that would have done." Claude settles down in one of the other armchairs. Even though they're in the relative safety of the hotel room, Dimitri still goes to stand guard right behind his chair. Such a reliable bodyguard. "And anyway, you don't have to beat yourself up that much." When Lorenz sulks, Claude grins. Ah yes, he managed to call him out a little. Good. "The last while has been pretty quiet. No doubt that was on purpose, because of how I had Dimitri with me so much. This last moment was just a mistake." He reaches back to rap his knuckles against Dimitri's stomach. "That's definitely not happening again anytime soon. I'll be lucky if I can take a shower all on my own."   
  
" _Claude_ ," Lorenz says, although Claude didn't mean it in that way at all, for once. When he doesn't get an apology, or whatever is that he was hoping for, Lorenz sinks back with a sigh before he returns to the track that they're on. "Regardless... I've sent the pictures you took back to Lysithea, and I'm sure that she'll be able to hunt down just who is still targeting you after all this time. Still... This would be far easier if we could get any information from them."   
  
From where he's situated from behind Claude, Dimitri finally speaks up. "While I wish to find out who is behind all of this as much as you, Lorenz, I fear that information is easier thought about than tracked down. Even whoever is behind this is using at least some measure of care, although their methods would not hint at such. When Claude and I managed to overhear the questions that were being asked of the ruffians who attacked him, I received the impression that they did not know much about their employer. They had been hired in a manner meant to obfuscate... no doubt to add such an obstacle in attempts to hunt them down."   
  
Claude nods. "Yeah, I agree with Dimitri's assessment there. I think they were just some complete randos who got hired by a guy not showing their true face, who wasn't using their real name, and they probably got paid in cash. We'll need to be really lucky, and hunt down someone who can give us a little more information... Either someone with a better memory who paid attention to various little details or someone who managed to do a bit more homework on their employer so that they could be assured that they would be paid after all is said and done... And, either way, they'd have to be the kind of person who wouldn't mind selling out their employer."  
  
Lorenz taps his fingers along his arms a few times, thinking. "If it's someone who's rushing so much with so little funds, I wonder... Well, regardless." Lorenz shakes his head. "We will simply have to hope that we become lucky, then. For the time being, you both must be absolutely famished from your journey to this point."   
  
"We already ate on the train," Dimitri tries to say, but it's far too late. Lorenz is already pushing himself with a determined dusting off of his clothing, despite the fact that he has literally nothing on him that has to be dusted off in the first place. It's just one of his many charming and amusing little habits.   
  
"I'll be sure to order the finest foods off the menu!" Lorenz announces. "It shall be my treat - so please do not worry yourselves in the slightest on how it shall be a burden on your wallets."   
  
Claude sort of assumed that they would all be putting this on the company's dime, honestly... but hey. Who is he to stop Lorenz from lavishing attention on all of them, which is Lorenz's favorite thing to do besides preening, appreciating artwork, and being just snobby enough that it no longer ruins friendships? So even though Dimitri looks as though he's going to fuss some more, Claude stops him with a friendly elbow to the side, and winks.   
  
Unlike the rest of them, Raphael hasn't really been taking part in this conversation, which isn't surprising. He'd be the first one to say that this sort of stuff goes over his head, and that he'll simply stick to his strengths - a phrase that is occasionally very literal.   
  
But he looks up now as Lorenz gets all worked up, and he grins. "Hey, you don't have to get anything fancy on my account, Lorenz," he says. "I'll be happy if we just get some good food for everyone, and enough to fill my stomach."   
  
"Nonsense." Lorenz smiles at him. "This is a rare opportunity to spoil you with the pure range of food. There is nothing wrong with simplicity, of course, but why not taste something outside of one's usual? No - I insist. We shall go all out for this."   
  
Well, when he talks about it like that, it's rather hard to refuse, isn't it? Raphael only grins even more, and not a single one of them stops Lorenz from picking up the in-house phone to make their order. It's an enormous one. It takes so many minutes just to speak all the items into the phone. Claude is pretty sure that Lorenz orders every single thing on the menu.  
  
While his enemy might have gotten some thugs into the back halls of a museum, there's apparently not as much luck in terms of drugging the food. There's not a single issue when it starts to arrive, and there proceeds to be a lack of issue through the rest of the night. Raphael and Dimitri manage to find a marathon of Guy Fieri shows on the television, which becomes the background noise to Claude and Lorenz's discussion on the mine they'll be visiting tomorrow.   
  
Lorenz and Raphael, arguably, have their own room to stay in. They somehow do not end up there, with Raphael drifting off to sleep on what _should_ be Dimitri's bed. When Lorenz tries to wake him up and get him on his feet, well... He gets latched onto instead. Claude just laughs and waves off Lorenz's worries. It'll be fine. They shouldn't disrupt Raphael when he looks like he's going to have a satisfied sleep.   
  
....Of course, him saying that doesn't take away from something else entirely, and him and Dimitri clean up the rest of the room quietly until Lorenz's breath has evened out a little more. Dimitri speaks up first, after they've gotten room service to take away the various dirty dishes and slid a substantial tip along with them.   
  
"I can sleep on the floor," he offers quietly, the two of them in a corner of the room furthest away from the bed. "Or perhaps the armchairs - they would not be the most uncomfortable thing I have ever slept in."   
  
"That's a little much, I think," Claude says, his own voice just as soft in turn. "And, anyway...." He pauses, not sure about what he should say next. "I mean, so, Dimitri... When I've said we were boyfriends before, it sort of means people who are... romantically involved in one another. A step before trying to get married. So if you sleep on the floor..."   
  
Dimitri blinks at him. "I know what boyfriends are, Claude," he says patiently.   
  
...Oh. "Since when?" Claude asks, kind of reeling from this.   
  
"You left me alone in your apartment with only the television. It did not take very long for that sort of thing to be brought up, and for me to understand what it meant in the context it was presented in."   
  
Oh - _Oh_. Claude's shoulders start to shake, and he has to shove his fist into his smiling mouth. _Of course_ he picked up on what it meant from television. "What a gross oversight on my part, then," he manages to wheeze out, struggling to hold himself back. Something occurs to him then, however, and he eyes up Dimitri once more. "Then that means... you knew exactly what you were saying that very first day when I took you to Golden Deer with me, doesn't it?"   
  
A precious little pink spreads across Dimitri's face, and he glances away in embarrassment. "I thought... it was not such a bad thing to be thought as," he murmurs. "And, well... It did allow me to stay close to you no matter what."   
  
"So all those times you were close to me..." A part of Claude still wants to laugh, because of course he missed such an obvious little detail, all because Dimitri didn't respond to it at all.   
  
Another part of him is his aching heart, because for Dimitri to have been wanting him for all this time...   
  
He takes a breath, and calms whatever weird actions his heart is doing now. "Well, I guess that explains that. Still, you shouldn't have to shove yourself onto the floor because of me." This is really just testing fate, he knows it is, but... "Listen, this place offers pretty huge beds." Claude asked for rooms like that in consideration of how tall Dimitri is, after all. "We can probably both lay on it, and there should be enough room for things to not get awkward."   
  
Dimitri looks back at him, staring at his face as though he can figure out the puzzle that Claude has tried to be for a really long time now. "Are you sure that's all right, Claude?" he asks.   
  
That soft voice, so full of concern and affection, is going to kill him one day, and all the moreso because Claude knows that Dimitri will follow anything he says without a second thought. Honestly, he has no idea if it'll be alright, but... He smiles regardless. "We'll manage. Besides, you're my bodyguard, aren't you? I want you at your best, and that means not waking up sore because you slept in a weird position in a chair. C'mon. Let's change out of our travel clothes."   
  
Some days, Claude really does wonder about his masochistic tendencies... Because despite what he says, his heart is still up in his throat when him and Dimitri finally settle in the same bed together. There's distance between them, of course. He gets to watch Dimitri very carefully arrange some of the many extra pillows they've got to act as a barrier between the two of them.   
  
But still... When the lights are out and the blankets are tugged up over their bodies, Claude can't do anything _but_ be painfully aware of how close Dimitri is. Even with pillows between them, he can still hear the soft breath so close to his own head...   
  
How much effort would it really take, to get closer to him? To break past this simple line of pillows? It wouldn't be that hard, he's pretty sure... And how nice it would feel, to cuddle up against that warm body again.... He knows how it feels now, after all. He knows what it feels like to have Dimitri hold him tight, to give him some semblance of warmth and stability that he hasn't felt in a really long time now - maybe even before so many memories of his childhood. If he just broke past one little line of pillows...  
  
Claude isn't entirely sure when he wakes up, only that it's to the sensation of sunlight shining down across his closed eyelids. He grumbles, turns his head to burrow into something softer and warmer - the pillow barrier between him and Dimitri? There's a quiet "Oh" sort of sound, and the world goes dark again, a pressure along his head. Pillow? Oh. Claude makes a soft sleepy noise. Right, he must have burrowed into the pillows between them. He can hear Lorenz sigh, even with the fluffy obstructions in the way. "He really is sleeping in rather selfishly... We do have a schedule to keep to, don't we?"   
  
Listening to Raphael try to laugh, but quietly, is kind of amusing, because of just how much he can't quite do it. He's clearly trying his best. "He seems pretty happy, so I don't see a reason to wake him up! The way you're smiling means you agree, right, Lorenz?"   
  
There's a sound which is reminiscent of a cat spitting a little bit. But then - "It's fine... I apologize for this, but you two can step out, and I'll be sure to let Claude know-"   
  
Claude jerks up and, as he does so, various pillows tumble from his head, and are sent falling over him, in front of him... and onto Dimitri. His face heats up. It wasn't the pillow line he'd buried into; he'd buried _under_ it, right up against Dimitri's arm.   
  
"Morning, Claude!" Raphael says cheerfully, politely not paying much attention to the situation as it is. "Sorry, we musta woke you up! Don't mind us, 'tho, me and Lorenz were about to head back to our room."   
  
Slowly, Claude looks around the room, and, okay, yep, Dimitri is also glancing away in some embarrassment. Lorenz shakes his head, exasperated in the same way he is when anyone at their company has shown any sort of PDA. The only reason Claude suspects that he doesn't say anything this time around is because this isn't the Golden Deer building, but a hotel room he was graciously allowed to stay in. "Well, there's no reason for either of us to linger," he says. "Do remember to clean up before we leave for the meeting, won't you, Claude?"   
  
"Uh huh," Claude says, coughing into one fist and sitting upright on the other side of the bed. Dimitri is doing similar on his side. "We'll... see you in a bit." With that, Raphael and Lorenz _finally_ leave their room. Claude lets loose a long breath, sweeping both of his hands up into his hair. "Oh jeez... Dimitri, I'm _really_ sorry about that."   
  
Dimitri coughs into his hand. "No... No, I should apologize. I did not remove you when I woke up, and realized how our positions had changed in the middle of the night. I should have, no matter if I thought I would wake you by mistake."   
  
Yeah, Claude figured that was what had happened... It's an awkward position to be in. He drags his hands back, down his face. "Hoo... I never thought myself to be the clingy type," he mutters, to no one in particular, before he shakes his head. "Anyway - let's just chalk that up to a _very_ embarrassing accident, and do what Lorenz advised. We really do have a lot to do, although it is mainly that tour of the mine. Do you mind if I take the shower first?" Maybe the heat of a shower will burn away his embarrassment. At least, that's what he can hope, right?   
  
It's Dimitri, so of course he agrees, and it doesn't take very long at all for Claude to finish washing up. Yet there's a surprise when he steps out from the bathroom, and he blinks down at the various shiny black armor pieces which have been spread out carefully along the floor. "I mean, I know it's been a while since you've had a chance to oil them, but I didn't think you would choose now of all times, Dimitri..."   
  
Dimitri looks up at him with a smile. "Oh, no. Rather, Raphael asked me what it was that I was carrying in the box, and, well... I thought I would show him, before we left for the trip to the mine. Besides, well... I won't lie, but it has felt right to pull it out again, instead of letting it languish away out of sight."   
  
"When you talk about it like that, I almost wonder if I should let you wear it," Claude chuckles, putting his hands over his hips as he leans over the whole mess. "I mean, I bet we could get away with it and not many people would stare _that_ much."   
  
"Oh, people would _absolutely_ stare and it would cause a fuss," Dimitri huffs, raising an eyebrow. "That's a ridiculous bet to take."   
  
A grin begins to creep across Claude's face. "Oh, are you scared that you'll lose it? Come on. What do you want from me? I'm not afraid to put it on the table. What do you want?"   
  
"I don't _want_ anything."   
  
"How about one of those enormous fancy cheese platters at the fancy grocery store?" Claude tries, and his grin might surpass the limits of his face when he sees Dimitri suddenly go still. "Ah _ha_. So he _can_ be bought."   
  
Dimitri's sulking expression at being so easily called out really is the cutest thing in the world, especially when he peers up from underneath his bangs like this. "...You cannot always bribe me like that. It is only food, and I do not _need_ it."   
  
"Yeah, you don't," Claude agrees mildly. "But you still _really_ love it. So come on. If I lose, I'll get you a whole new cheese platter." He winks. "And if you lose... Well, is there anything I want from you.... Maybe I'll just eat that whole platter all by myself, and not let you have any."   
  
If Claude kicked a dog, he doesn't think he could get such a look of offense to appear on Dimitri's face. "You are truly a sadist of the highest caliber," Dimitri says quietly. "No. If you win, then simply do what you like with my fictional dragons."   
  
Ah, so they're returning to the virtual dragon site again. Claude chuckles. "So it sounds like you're agreeing to my terms," he says cheekily. "Fine then - if I win, then I get to do whatever I like on your fictional dragon account. I hope you're prepared for all of them to have my name."   
  
And _that_ is how they end up in the situation of Lorenz dead eyeing both of them as they step out into the hallway. "This is why I cannot leave you alone for a fraction of a second," he murmurs as Raphael laughs loudly and heaps compliments on Dimitri's armor. "How on earth did you get that? _Why_ is it being worn? You're always doing things like this, I _swear_."   
  
Once upon a time, Claude might have been careful in teasing Lorenz - so uptight, so confrontational, all of it. Now, however, he just laughs. "It's part of a bet."   
  
"What on earth did he bet on that would lead to this?"  
  
"Oh, no, you misunderstand. _This_ is the bet." Claude winks. "We'll see just how noticeable he is when it comes to wearing something like this. So far, with Raphael pretty positive about it, and you reeling, I would say that we're currently at even. Anyway, we should get going, shouldn't we?"   
  
Dimitri's armor is a rather mixed bag, when they finally go out - first via a rail system, and then waiting for a rented vehicle and driver to show up. Some people stare, occasionally taking pictures, especially on the subway. Others take a passing look, interested, but go with the "adult life is already so god damn weird" approach. A couple of times, they're stopped by people who want to take a picture, fascinated at the craftsmanship of such armor that's in fact real metal instead of something fake for, say, a stage or some such.  
  
Riding in a car is a little awkward, but Dimitri at least has his cape, and that means that there's no need to worry about tearing a hole in the seat cushions. When they finally arrive at their destination, Dimitri stretches his arms in front of him. "Really... I've never done something quite like this before," he murmurs, flexing his fingers. "Why on earth did I allow you to convince me into this?"   
  
"I'm just naturally charming," Claude says sweetly, and laughs when Dimitri gives him that deadpan look.   
  
Despite the look he gave to Dimitri, Lorenz seems rather fascinated in the construction of the armor himself - he always did have an interest in classical armor and clothing, honestly. "It must be quite cumbersome to move around in that sort of thing," he says.  
  
Dimitri smiles. "Oh, no, not at all. In fact, I feel rather agile like this. Allow me to give a demonstration." And with that, completely unprompted, he steps away from the three of them and just... does a backflip. He does a backflip, in full plate armor, while wearing an enormous heavy cloak. "See? It allows quite a range of movement!"   
  
Raphael lets out a long whistle, while Lorenz and Claude just stare. "Nice!" the hunk says cheerfully, clapping one large hand onto Dimitri's shoulder. The sound of his palm smacking onto metal hits right down to the gut. "That musta taken a lot of work to practice! Good job!"   
  
Instead of giving Lorenz a chance to question even more on just what exactly all of this is and why Dimitri knows this, Claude decides to take the initiative and winks at him. "See?" he says. "There's a reason why I chose him as my bodyguard, and it has nothing to do with nepotism~."   
  
"I did not even ask," Lorenz says with a sigh. "At any rate, there is our escort for this trip. Let us focus on work, shall we?"   
  
If focusing on work gets him out of having to discuss things he doesn't want to discuss, well then, by all means... Claude can't find a single thing to complain about. So they get their two blonds to focus, and they all descend down to where the guide is waiting for them. As they do so, Dimitri stays right close at Claude's back again, a perfect guard. Well, Claude will trust him to do his job that needs doing. Him, he'll focus on what _he_ needs to do.   
  
As they descend into the mines, some temporary lights set up for all of this that are running on solar batteries, Lorenz leans down to speak to him quietly. "The outside was in fairly good condition," he murmurs. "There's no sign of anything we need to haul away."   
  
Claude hums quietly, looking up at the light fixtures they can make out up along the ceiling. "Taking these out will be a little tricky, but no doubt that they've kept the barebones wiring up in case they ever needed to get back down here... There was still that small building set outside. I didn't notice any broken windows so... They probably use it to store a generator, power control, things like that, and I have a feeling that it's probably more filled with dust and dead bugs than anything else. It should be easy to take down... although this is just guesswork and nothing substantial. We'll have to get a key to the building, take a look ourselves."   
  
That, too, shouldn't be much of an issue, unless they've somehow managed to lose the key to the joint... And, if that's the case, Claude can't imagine it would be too hard to get an agreement for them to get a locksmith or something down here. The tunnels seem to be pretty decently clean as well, he's pleased to note. There's not as much clutter as he might have expected, and there seem to be plenty of tunnels that lead into larger areas. It all... honestly leaves him with a pretty good feeling about the place. This might be the one.   
  
After a while of walking, their guide takes a moment to check her phone for some additional information - possibly an old text she sent to herself or whatever. Claude is more than happy to let her do it, especially when Lorenz pulls him to the side while they're still in view from Dimitri, and with their backs to the walls, and away from any of the tunnels. Hey - they can't be too careful.   
  
Claude is expecting Lorenz to talk more about the mine's pros and cons. What Lorenz _actually_ says, voice kept carefully low, is, "Is your relationship with Dimitri going well, Claude?"   
  
For a second, his brain sort of stutters and glitches, and Claude blinks. "Pardon?" he asks.   
  
"Now, I would never eavesdrop on you on purpose," Lorenz says, and there's a sort of unspoken _not anymore_ in there. "However, while I was trying to fall asleep when Raphael kept us in your room, I did wander a bit more into consciousness for a brief moment." Claude feels his heart stop for a second before he calms it down. No, this is nothing, and he's reassured that it's nothing as Lorenz continues on. "I was not sure if it was a dream, but I could have swore you were expressing some concern to him, and that the two of you were opposed to sharing a bed. I had thought it strange, of course, that you had booked a room with two beds to start with, but I had not thought anything of it before we had been swept up into conversation... Yet is there an issue?"   
  
Jeez.... Trust Lorenz to pick up on some minor details like that. It's one of the reasons why Claude is glad that he hired him, of course, but still... He could really do without it now, especially when he wasn't prepared for questioning like this. He's going to have to think on the fly for this one... "It's nothing dramatic like that," he reassures Lorenz gently. "With everything that's happening, it's just been a little stressful, and there's been no real chance for us to have our own space to decompress, you know? Once we finish this trip up and get back to Derdriu, things will ease up again."   
  
It's all bullshit, of course. His and Dimitri's relationship hasn't really changed, in terms of how they're dealing with each other in enclosed spaces, while dealing with attacks on Claude. If anything has changed... Well, what's changed is what makes him feel maybe a small tinge of guilt in the back of his stomach for still using this dating excuse when he hasn't even been able to give Dimitri a proper answer - not the confession that he wants to give, but not the rejection he should, either.   
  
At least it's bullshit that Lorenz seems to buy well enough, and he leans back with a soft sigh of relief. "I see... Well, I suppose I cannot blame either of you for being on edge with that in mind. When we return to Derdriu, I shall help orchestrate a bit of time for the both of you to spend without the other, and I am sure that will help a great deal. Raphael already seems to be rather fond of him, so I am certain that he would be more than glad to spend time with him and Ignatz if the three of them went to enjoy the city sights. As for you, well, there are even more options, even if we simply kept you safe at home."   
  
Trust Lorenz to immediately start making plans for them when they're not even out of the mine yet. Claude grins. "Maybe I can rope you and Lysithea into doing another game of Risk. You were almost _so close_ last time-"   
  
Before he can tease Lorenz any more on how much he's lost at some of the boardgames they've all played together, there's a sudden - vibration, sensation, something that he feels down to his bones almost before his ears register the sound of something exploding. It echoes all throughout the mine, and every single one of their heads snaps up.   
  
Their guide especially seems alarmed, and she starts rushing back the way they came. It's a good thing that they all had to put on hard hats before entering the mine... Because they're all certainly rushing back towards the entrance with no care for safety.   
  
Good thing they're either quick on their feet or bulky enough that it doesn't matter.  
  
Unfortunately, no amount of running really changes what awaits them at the end of the tunnel. The exit they were all meant to reliably leave from after this tour was over is now... completely collapsed. Claude hastily comes to a stop, gaze flicking up towards the ceiling.   
  
Fortunately, it seems stable enough... but there's no denying that the very entrance has collapsed in on itself. That isn't the sort of thing that should happen. The entrance had been made from solid rock, able to stay up pretty solidly on its own with just a little bit of support Just In Case. This sort of thing...   
  
" _Shit_!" It's their guide, looking definitely panicked, but also definitely... a little enraged as she stares up at the pile of rock that's barely illuminated from the lights that weren't caught in the crash. It's the look of someone who isn't particularly _surprised_ that this has happened at all.   
  
Claude and Lorenz exchange A Look, but they don't have a chance to direct Raphael to do anything. Dimitri is already stepping up, a looming shadow behind the guide that makes her face pale somewhat when she turns around. The armor had started off as just a joke, but in a sealed off mine tunnel, with the light illuminating him from the back? He looks like something ethereal, dark.   
  
"I believe," Dimitri says, that deep voice of his an undeniable threat, "that you may have something to do with this. Was the reason you were trying to check your phone for reasons other than helping us on this tour?"   
  
Perhaps out of habit, out of instinct, their "guide" glances around, but she doesn't really have a lot of options. Not only is there only one way from the now collapsed entrance, but Dimitri and Raphael aren't easily the kind of guys you can get past in such an enclosed space... and Claude and Lorenz aren't just idiots who'd stand around doing nothing, either.   
  
She realizes that fairly quickly, and decides to take the smarter option as she sighs and holds her hands up. "I was told that they were going to move a large container of some sort to block the entrance that way. It was only meant to force you into signing some contract or another, or threaten you out of pursuing - purchasing any mine, I suppose. The people who hired me didn't really go into detail."   
  
Claude lets out a whistle of a breath. "Well, it's good to know that they're scumbags through and through, I suppose," he says. "I guess they must be desperate... And then they made their desperation the problem of a bunch of different people, most who had nothing to do with this."   
  
Well, he can't say that everyone here has nothing to do with it. Maybe the individual responsible for this shitshow thought that so many different people might lead to discord in the ranks, for example, or that he'd feel pressured to agree to any terms in order to ensure everyone was alright... Although how they planned to do that with tons of rock in the way is anyone's guess.   
  
They can think about it later. For now, there's no denying the actual threat there in front of him, and Claude turns his attention back to the many rocks now barring their exit. Besides him, Lorenz rubs at his face in concern. "We could try to see if our cell phones could make an outside connection... I know we're in the mines, technically, but we may be near enough to the entrance that it is possible. My only concern is that we will run out of air, and other such things, if we stay here like this..."   
  
"We outta be fine, but we can head to the refuge if you want," Raphael says casually, as though he's not particularly concerned.   
  
Every single one of them blinks, and looks up at him. "A what?" Lorenz asks, blinking a few times. "I'm sorry - you will have to be more clear, Raphael."   
  
Beaming, Raphael points down the mine tunnel. "A, uh, whatcha call it... A mine refuge chamber. After a certain point, all of 'em are supposed to have something like that, y'know? In case of emergencies like this one. This place has been abandoned forever, I get that, but that just means that they won't have stuff like oxygen tanks, or water, or stored food - stuff like that. But they outta have a clear ventilation system that connects to the outside, even if there's no power for it, and they definitely should have a map. Doesn't this place have another entrance somewhere?"   
  
Claude and Lorenz look at each other. "Ah, well," Lorenz says, blinking a few times as he gets his thoughts in order once again. "There _was_... However, allegedly, there was a small storm in the area which caused some of the larger rocks to tumble off of the mountain, and which essentially blocked that secondary exit out of the mines." Frowning, he crosses his arms and starts to tap along his jaw. "Although, considering that we have already been deceived as it is, to the point that we weren't even told about this mine refuge chamber... There's no guarantee that it's _completely_ unusable."   
  
"I was thinking the same thing," Claude agrees, grinning. "Alright, let's see if we can't get a signal regardless, and then make our way through the mine. It may take a while, but it's better to get there instead of standing too close to somewhere that could very well become unstable in the blink of an eye, right?"   
  
In the end, it's Dimitri's phone, held up in the most awkward position practically near the ceiling by Raphael's own long reach, that manages to get a signal. Lorenz definitely doesn't make a particularly graceful image as he hangs from Raphael's arm so that he can speak into the phone, detailing where they are and what happened, what their plans on... But necessity, alas, often isn't very graceful at all. When they're done, well, there's really only one thing for them to do: they begin to make their way through the mine.   
  
Honestly, Raphael's knowledge of mines is invaluable here, because he seems to have a solid idea of where to go while their light system can still guide their way. Equally invaluable are those same light systems, and Claude finds himself grateful that Leonie advised them to use solar battery powered in the first place. At the time, he had simply assumed that it would be good because setting up a whole generator could be bothersome...   
  
But now, those same lights are things all of them can haul up into their arms, with Raphael using one as an enormous flashlight with another tucked underneath his arm and powered off. Lorenz helps haul one up awkwardly himself, and Dimitri holds two as well - all of them off, to save what power they can manage.   
  
Claude "encourages" their not-guide to take one up too. Hey, why not? The more, the better, and her hands look like they could really be kept busy.   
  
With Raphael's experience and a couple of old signs that were never taken down, they eventually do end up before a large door that doesn't match the vibe of the mine, on account of it being metal, and it being in a metal wall plastered with various safety and warning signs. The noise it makes when Raphael goes to turn the handle hints that it would really rather stay in place, rusting away... but nothing can stop Raphael when he decides to put those muscles of his to work.   
  
A long whistle slides out of Claude's teeth as he peeks into the refuge. From the description Raphael had given on the way there, he had thought that it would be much tinier, but this... "Honestly, this doesn't seem like that bad of a space, all the dust aside. Plenty of chairs, warm colors... Hey, Dimitri, put the light over here. You were right, Raphael. There's a map."   
  
As Dimitri puts down the two off lights he'd been carrying and brings in the one Raphael had, Lorenz comes over to join him. "And there is indeed a secondary exit," he murmurs, reaching up to tape a winding path that leads away from where they're located. It really is a fantastic map - clear and easy to read even after all this time abandoned. "Despite the length of time it will take to walk that way, so long as no tunnels have collapsed in the time this mine has been out of use, I think we ought to be fine. Frankly, with the condition this mine is in, I think those chances are rather slim."  
  
"Still, a chance is a chance," Claude says, and glances towards the rest of the group. Dimitri has already herded their not-so-friendly guide off to a corner furthest away from the door. There is an emergency hatch, apparently, but, well... Claude is pretty sure that no one besides Raphael or maybe Dimitri could get it open, with some doing. He looks back to Lorenz and smiles. "Think you can keep all of this tucked away in your head so that we know how to get back here in case we have to turn the car around, Lorenz?"   
  
For a moment, Lorenz stays quiet with his hand curled around his chin and his gaze raking over the map that is illuminated before them. Eventually, he smiles - secure and confident and in his best. "Why of course. I have had to memorize far more complicated things than simply a map, you know."   
  
Heh. Claude supposes that he's ended up with the perfect team for this kind of situation, by complete happenstance. He turns back to where Dimitri is keeping a solemn gaze down on their captive, who looks like she's surrendered to this kind of fate. "Hey," he calls, and watches as both of them perk up - although in different ways, with the fake guide looking over to him, and Dimitri simply shifting his head to make it clear he's listening. "Miss Guide, I think we'll keep you in here for the time being."   
  
She jolts, alarmed. "What - you're going to lock me in here!?"   
  
"What do you take us for, the kind of people who hired you in the first place?" Claude starts to laugh, waving her off. "No, we won't close the door behind us. This is more making you promise something, and it's up to you if you want to keep that promise or not. I'll ask that you stay in here, and we'll be sure, if we don't come back first, to make sure you're rescued alongside the rest of us.   
  
"However, I'd rather not waste all our time having to look at our backs to make sure that you won't do something else... and so it's a lot easier to pick up on another set of footsteps than to watch you all the time. Plus... There's an offer I want you to consider, while you have a room all to yourself with plenty of peace and quiet."   
  
It's quite a sentence to finish off with, he knows. There's a lot of possibility in the word _offer_ , and it could go either way for a person in her position. However, well... It's a position where she doesn't really have anything to lose, isn't it? He can see that thought cross her mind, even as she stares back at him. "What kind of offer?" she asks after a moment.   
  
Good. So long as she's interested, he can work with that. "Your employers have been kind of bothering me for a while," Claude says mildly. "However, they've been incredibly rude. They haven't even sent so much as a greeting card before trying to ruin my life with all the, you know, attempted kidnapping. But just a little while ago, you let slip more than I've gotten to know this entire time... That's it's at least more than one person who's invested in me eating dirt.   
  
"Now, maybe I'm wrong - you don't have to say one way or the other just yet. But what _I_ think is that you did a bit more than some of their other grunts, in that you did a little bit of research on them before you took the job... And, well, if you were willing to share that research with us, for these employers who very rudely trapped you in a mine and probably weren't going to pay you the rest of your fee..."   
  
She's scowling, not because she's pissed at him, but because she knows he's right, and so she's pissed at an entirely _different_ individual, or two, or more. Frankly, Claude is pretty sure she's been holding back on how pissed she is, on account of much more pressing matters, so, honestly... It works in his favor to remind her of how pissed she should be. He smiles.   
  
"Let's just say that Golden Deer can help you deal with them through the courts, and we can make sure that you don't get the absolute worst judgment that you might otherwise." Claude winks. "Just think on it. I think it's going to take us a while to get to this secondary exit, and longer still for the rescue team to remove all that rubble, or make their way around the mountain to retrieve you. C'mon, Dimitri."   
  
Dimitri waits until they've walked a good five minutes away from the refuge before he leans closer to Claude, and speaks up quietly. "Do you think she'll accept?"   
  
"I think she will," Claude answers softly, trusting Lorenz to be in the lead. "The easiest way to get screwed over is by treating the people you hire like dirt... or, you know, trying to bury them in dirt, literally. While I wasn't expecting our luck in this matter to be a monkey's paw kind of luck, well... I'll make it work to our advantage." Claude smiles at him. "I just feel a little bad that this wasn't the kind of thing that could really be guarded against - not unless I had some sort of elite team guarding me twenty four seven."   
  
"You're the prince of another nation!" Lorenz says from ahead of them. "You _should_ have an elite team guarding you!"   
  
Dimitri frowns. "Do you not have a team because - of your siblings?" he asks awkwardly, not sure if this is something he can really address or not.   
  
Ha. Well, Claude can certainly see what he'd think that, and want to ask for clarification. It's the kind of thing that wouldn't be out of place, in what he's told Dimitri. Still... For this kind of thing, he can at least smile. "No, they're all in the same boat. Consider it another thing we're all expected to do - taking care of ourselves. A couple of my siblings do indeed hire bodyguards to make sure they're safe all the time. Others prefer to simply have them keep an eye on the information side of things, or when it comes to food, and they do all sorts of combat training as a point of pride. It's that kind of thing."   
  
"And what do you do, Claude?"   
  
"Isn't it obvious?" He grins over his shoulder. "I have all of you."   
  
The map really had detailed a rather enormous and complex tunnel system, which Claude rather likes because, you know, attempts on his life aside... It might be a place he can make good use of. Despite that, thanks to Lorenz's determination to succeed and how he's sharpened his own memory, it doesn't take them as long as it might have otherwise to arrive at their destination. It's pretty easy to recognize, with the use of more of the lights that they took along with them.   
  
You know. On account of the giant fucking rocks that are right there in front of the entrance.   
  
Once him and Dimitri put down both of their lights, on and filling the space up with light, Raphael steps forward and tilts his head back. "I think we outta be good, Claude," he says, and points up. "The supporting arch doesn't seem like it actually caught hit or anything, and the man-made stuff's managed to hold up pretty good as well. While it's blocked, I think it's just a matter of moving it. It's just..." He rubs the back of his neck. "Might be hard, even for me... and I'm not sure what else might be outside of this."   
  
"Well, I can't say it's something that we weren't expecting..." Claude rubs at his chin, stepping forward as well. "It would take a lot of power that we just don't have... These rocks are definitely more than I was expecting. Sorry about this, guys. We'll have to turn back."   
  
There's the clank of armor, and Dimitri is right there besides him. "So moving these rocks is all that's worrying you?" he asks, looking over the boulder that's in front of them, and some of the smaller but still humongous rocks that are around it in various ways. "This is all that's standing between us and having a way out, instead of waiting in the tunnels..."  
  
"You're saying that about a chunk of rock that's bigger than you are, you know," Claude says, deceivingly light. "Do you have some sort idea on what we can do to leverage out of the way? Although I'm not sure how well we'd do there... All the equipment was moved, after all, and I don't think the chairs in the refuge are going to cut it as tools we can use.."   
  
Dimitri smiles, just slightly. "You don't have to worry," he says. "I have a good idea on how to move it." He looks back. "Raphael, can you keep Claude and Lorenz safe? I'm going to be focusing on this matter for a moment... So please make sure to keep an eye on the state of the entrance, and get them out of the way if anything looks like it may start to go wrong."   
  
"Hey, whoa, wait up-" Claude raises a hand, blinking in surprise. He didn't expect Dimitri to just leap right into it. "Aren't you going to tell us just what you have in mind...?"   
  
A shake of Dimitri's head. "Just trust me," he says, and reaches over for Claude's hand. Even though he's wearing gauntlets, his touch is still so very gentle as he raises Claude's hand upwards, over his chest, his heart. "I won't get hurt, and I will get us out of here. It's simply something that I think would be easier for me to do on my own, than anything else."  
  
Claude has learned to be careful about who he places his trust in, and for what reason. A lot of the time, it's not even a complete and total kind of trust. Mostly, he trusts in a person to do a certain thing, or behave a certain way - things like that, and for a particular and narrow route. It's almost not so much a trust as it is an expectation. Even his coworkers, his friends, of Golden Deer aren't people he's put his full trust in... although, honestly, he's started to give them more and more ever since he met all of them. Maybe it's simply a matter of time.   
  
And for Dimitri... for Dimitri, how much trust will he put in his hands?   
  
Claude takes a breath, and he smiles. "If you say it like that, then you have to really impress me, alright? It would be really embarrassing for anything less." And he steps back.   
  
At least they don't have to worry about lacking any light, thanks to how they brought two of the lights that lined the halls with them. Dimitri is not lacking in the slightest as he looks over the situation again. From what Claude can tell, it's mainly checking out the various smaller rocks that have filled in all the gaps where the one main boulder couldn't.   
  
Well, even if he calls them "smaller" rocks, that's all rather... in relation to the size of the main boulder itself, and not to any of _them_. From all the looking that Claude can do, he thinks that even the smallest among them has to be at least the size of Raphael's torso... and Raphael isn't a particularly small man.   
  
Sure, if they had tools, they could probably work together, and maybe dislodge that sort of rock, and they could work together to get it out of the way. But as things are currently, they really don't have anything on hand to make it work, and doing it _by_ hand would just waste a lot of energy that Claude doesn't think they can really afford to-   
  
Dimitri suddenly just - pops his hand out, and there's the sound of crashing rock, and the sharp sound of air very rapidly filling up some suddenly prime real estate.   
  
Claude blinks once, and then a few more times, not entirely sure if what he just saw was a trick of the light, or shadow, or any other number of things. Yet while shadow can mess with perception a great deal, well... He knows what he was looking at just a moment ago. And if there's anything that helps really hammer in what he was looking at... There's the brief ray of light that shimmers through before disturbed dirt and smaller rocks clatter down to fill the space.   
  
Looking back at all of their wide eyed stares, Dimitri smiles. "I will get rid of the smaller rocks. Once that's done... Well, it will take some leverage, but I believe I should be able to get the boulder out of the way as well. There is only one way to see."   
  
"Wait, no, please-" Lorenz holds up a hand, the other one delicately pressing up against his forehead as he squeezes his eyes shut. Claude can't blame him, considering what he just saw. "Dimitri, I understand this is incredibly important, but - did you force a rock through dirt and who knows what other debris, with only your bare hand?"   
  
Past Lorenz, Dimitri meets Claude's gaze, and Claude lets out a slow breath from inbetween his teeth. Well... Even if Dimitri doesn't say anything, Claude can understand what he means to convey with his gaze alone. In such life or death situations like this, even if they have a rescue team on the way... Well, this isn't the time to really hold secrets. Claude wasn't expecting this kind of thing to happen with Dimitri, but, in hindsight, he can't say he's surprised either.   
  
In Dimitri's time, the flow of magic had been different... including how it had ingrained itself into human beings. So for Dimitri to be able to display strength like that... Well, he always has been careful with how he's handled things around Claude's apartment. He guesses he knows why.   
  
And he's right that it might be good to tell at least one other person... with the situation being what it is. So Claude nods, and Dimitri's attention turns back to Lorenz. "It's not something I can explain right away," he says quietly, voice still plenty loud enough in the emptiness of the tunnels. "When all of this is taken care of, then we can have a conversation, I swear."   
  
"I..." Lorenz starts, and then stops himself, letting out a breath. "No, you are right. Please, carry on as you were, Dimitri. Still, I will have quite a bit to say, after all of this is said and done with."   
  
"I expect nothing less," Dimitri says with a slight smile, before he turns back to the wall of rocks.  
  
Honestly, if he can ignore everything else about the scenario, watching Dimitri go to work is kind of funny. It's like watching a kid just toss aside pillows, only Dimitri is often shoving or forcing rocks out from their place. Soon, much sooner than a normal human could ever experience within just a few minutes, Dimitri seems to have cleared out the vast majority of smaller rocks surrounding the major one... All that's slid down is mostly dirt, frankly.   
  
"Are you breathing alright, Dimitri?" Claude asks, watching his bodyguard and friend carefully. Normally, this kind of thing... Well, let's just say this whole moment is unorthodox, to say the least.   
  
"I'm fine," Dimitri assures him, even as he eyes up the main boulder blocking their way. The surrounding obstacles were only a small portion, considering things. Even with all of that out of the way, even Claude could tell that they wouldn't be able to squeeze through even if they could get rid of the dirt that's been left behind. If they want to get anywhere... They're going to have to move the boulder, even a little bit. It seems kind of ludicrous to move it at all... So of course Dimitri says, after a moment, "I will have to move this... but it's something beyond even me. I'll only be able to move it a little bit... and hopefully that will be enough for us to squeeze out."   
  
"Alright!" Raphael says, so sudden and loud that Claude starts a little. "Then I'll help, and the both of us outta get it out of the way!"   
  
Dimitri blinks a few times at him, caught off guard. "Ah, are you certain? I am not saying this to discourage you, necessarily, but it _is_ extraordinarily heavy, Raphael."   
  
Stepping forward, Raphael grins and knocks on his safety helmet a couple of times. "I'm sure! There's no point in getting all these muscles if I don't use them to help out, y'know! So let's go! Which way are we going to shove this big thing?"  
  
A little bit of explaining later, and the two blonds braces themselves against the boulder blocking their way. Even like this, Claude _knows_ he can see the rays of sunlight that filters through the gaps, the dirt that doesn't really want to stay in place. All that needs to happen is... pulling off some magic, Claude supposes. So he makes sure him and Lorenz stand back, nice and out of the way, as their two friends hiss in deep breaths between their teeth.   
  
It's apparent, immediately, that there won't be any shatteringly impressive displays this time - not done so effortlessly, at any rate. Raphael and Dimitri push, and push, their backs braced against the boulder, and for a second, Claude thinks that it might be genuinely impossible even with someone who has magic coursing through them to move the thing. That he might just have made Dimitri and Raphael waste all their energy, when they could have waited quietly back in the refuge.   
  
And then dirt begins to fall. First from the ceiling, clattering harmlessly against Dimitri and Raphael's hardhats. Then, from the side, tumbling down in a rush to the ground. The thin beams of sunlight start to get wider, clashing with the beams from their own electronic lights. Grunting, panting, snarling, and a brief pause for a moment... and soon, there's a tiny path available to them, right between the wall of the mine entrance and the boulder.   
  
Well, it's tiny relative to Raphael as he's standing right next to it. When Claude steps forward, well, it'll be a little bit uncomfortable, but definitely easy for him to slip through. Raphael and Dimitri will have the most struggle, or be the most uncomfortable... "But it's doable," Claude says, relief rolling off of him in waves. "Lorenz, do you want to slip through first? You still have Dimitri's cell phone."   
  
So it's Lorenz first, and then Claude, because Dimitri can't stand the idea of him staying in the tunnels a moment longer. Raphael takes a moment to turn off the lights they had positioned inside, and then he's through too. And then, finally, Dimitri-   
  
He stumbles, stepping out from the gap, and Claude steps forward without even thinking about it, even though he's honestly the _last_ person who should be trying to step forward and catch a guy wearing actual plate armor. "Whoa there, big guy," he says, palms spread out against that smooth metal. Despite all of Dimitri's exertion, it still feels so very cool. "Are you alright?"   
  
"I think I can still feel dirt in my mouth," Dimitri says with a shaky smile, hands hovering along Claude and not daring to bridge the gap. Maybe he's scared that he'll hurt him somehow. "But... I am fine. I simply feel a little odd.... The consequences, I suppose, of doing such a task after I've truly been taking it far too easy over the months I have been with you."   
  
Claude laughs. "Oh, so you say I've been spoiling you, is that it?" he asks, patting Dimitri's armor. "I'll have to keep that in mind for when we get back to Derdriu. I can put you to work a lot more, trust me."   
  
There's a light throat clear from behind Claude, and he glances back to find Lorenz coughing into one fist. Raphael seems perfectly happy to stay out of the loop, hands folded behind his head as he beams brightly at the scene in front of him. If only Lorenz could be so easy. "Now that we're all free from a rather troubling situation.. I really would like to know just what on earth happened there. I understand that humans can do a great deal in times of stress, but something like that... And it was _expected_."   
  
Right. This. Claude keeps his hand on Dimitri's chest, and partially turns back to Lorenz. Alright... So how much truth should he put out here, and how much falsehood? With this kind of thing... Would they even be believed? Lorenz _did_ just witness Dimitri help move a giant boulder out of the way, with Raphael's help, but time travel is kind of a different thing all together.   
  
Claude doesn't even get a chance to answer. Suddenly, Dimitri buckles forward with a gasp, and his attention snaps towards the man immediately. "Dimitri!" he says - but the world is strange again. Off. A step to the right, with everything out of alignment. Feeling his pounding heart having relocated into his throat, Claude looks up, and finds the beginnings of a very familiar symbol taking shape over their heads.   
  
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we really can't leave this be any longer," a voice says, and Claude isn't surprised to see one of the saints standing to the side - well, more like floating to the side, their feet not quite touching the weed covered ground. It's hard, as usual, to decipher their expression... but he thinks there's just a faint tinge of apology and regret there.   
  
Well, while he may not be surprised, Lorenz and Raphael can't be the same, obviously, and Lorenz jerks even as Raphael tries to guide him behind him with one huge fist raised. Claude hastily raises a hand up. "It's fine, it's-" Which one is this again? Ah. "It's the Saint of the Verdant Wind." How fitting that it's them who has appeared here, just like they did that first time when Dimitri was dropped into his lap. Here, in a place that might soon bear their name.  
  
Lorenz stares. Raphael lowers his fist, takes a moment, and nods. "Oh, alright!" Very slowly, Lorenz turns his head to stare up at him.   
  
Well, Claude will consider that handled for the time being, because he has something just _mildly_ more important to take care of. He turns his attention back to Verdant Wind, to Byleth.   
  
Suddenly, he's painfully aware of how Dimitri is against him, how stubbornly Dimitri is trying to stay on his own two feet. "I thought you said it would take up to a year for this to be solved," he said, although he pauses. Well, it was Azure Moon who said that. Is it fair for him to make the same demand of Verdant Wind...?   
  
They don't seem to mind, nodding already as they answer. "That was how long it _could_ take... But, just now, there was a surge of magic that allowed the connection between here and then. Even though it was only a minor thing... It still helped make a connection regardless, and that was what we needed in order to solve this dilemma. We held back, since we saw you were in trouble.... But we can't do that for much longer." So it's a simple emergency that had them appear in front of Lorenz and Raphael like this.   
  
Behind him, Dimitri lightly lays his hand upon Claude's shoulder, and there's a pained smile on his face when Claude turns to look. Somehow... Claude doesn't think it has anything to do with being pulled back to his own time, not really. "I apologize... I will not be able to act as your bodyguard for much longer, even though you're in so much danger still. Can you please swear that you will stay safe from here on out...? I don't want you to wander near anymore dark empty rooms..."   
  
"Look at you... A time like this, and your sense of humor is still absolutely terrible, huh," Claude murmurs. Dimitri is starting to float upwards now, he thinks - he can see it in the drifting strands of that beautiful gold hair, the ruffling of his fur cloak, how he's starting to rise higher and higher, bit by little bit.   
  
Up towards that symbol in the air over their heads.   
  
Even despite that, despite knowing this day would come sooner or later... Claude can't help but hold on, his hands braced against Dimitri's arms. "You don't have to worry about that. You saw that we might finally have a trump card now... so don't you start fussing about this future, alright?"   
  
"Even so." Dimitri leans his head down - down more than he would usually need to if he were simply standing. He's a good few inches off the ground now. "On my end, I will do all that I am capable of in order to help forge the path for this beautiful future that you reside in... So please, stay safe. More than anything, I want you to stay safe."  
  
More than anything... Huh? Claude doesn't let go. Refuses to let go. "Is that really all you would want?" he asks Dimitri, refusing to tear his gaze away from that single beautiful eye that's so blue that it reminds him of the sky that stretches over his home - all of it, from Almyra to here in Fodlan. "Because I have something... I realize that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't give it to you."   
  
Desperate, scared to hope and scared to not, Dimitri's gaze searches over Claude's face. "Anything you give me," he swears, deep as a grave, with all the inevitable promise of it, "I will treasure for the rest of my life, and the memory of it I will carry into the beyond."   
  
"You don't even know what it is I'm giving you," Claude says, and he has to stand on his toes, now, just to keep holding onto Dimitri. "Let me correct that." And so, hauling himself up by those broad shoulders, Claude kisses him.   
  
He kisses him like he's always wanted to kiss him, in a situation that a part of him deep down inside never wanted to pass, even as the reality is impossible to ignore when his feet leave the ground.   
  
Breaking the kiss just a centimeter, Claude looks into that one deep blue eye and the impassable black of Dimitri's eyepatch. "Hey-" He swallows, because he really is an idiot despite how smart he claims to be, an idiot offering his heart out on a platter to the worst situation possible. "I love you, you know."   
  
It's stupid. The worst possible time to say this.   
  
Dimitri smiles, and it's like seeing the brilliant of a full moon, lighting the way to a home he sometimes feels he's lost in the dark.   
  
"I love you as well, Claude von Riegan," Dimitri says, full of more reverence than he'd give all the saints and Goddess of Fodlan. "And I will never let those words slip away from my heart, not for as long as I live."   
  
There's no point in clinging or anything. Claude knows that. Yet all he can do is reach up... and tug that hard hat off of Dimitri's head, smiling as best as he can, no wobbling, no bittersweet. "Probably shouldn't take this back with you to Faerghus," he says, to Dimitri's befuddled face. A couple of blinks, and then the other man, the king, is smiling wide enough to barely contain the laughter shining in his eye.   
  
And then there's a brilliant shine of light, the emblem swallowing Dimitri up whole, and he's just... gone...   
  
So is Verdant Wind, when Claude finally forces himself to look around to check up on that particular little oddity of his life. The only thing that has ever signaled Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd existed here in the present instead of centuries ago... is the extra hard hat that Claude holds in his hand, dangling limply from his fingers. The only bit of proof is the aching hole in his chest that longs for that bright smile once again, the solid warmth of Dimitri at his back, the smell of warm food cooked fresh for him in his apartment...   
  
There's a footstep behind him, and Claude drags himself out of his own heart, taking in a deep breath. Right. He can't just get lost, here. He has some explaining to do. "So," he says, forcing his voice to be chipper and relaxed as he turns around. It sounds fake to his ears. He hopes it doesn't to Raphael and Lorenz's. "I'd like to say that explains everything about how Dimitri could do what he did, but I suspect I'll have to add in a little more detail than that."   
  
Lorenz looks like he's having a pretty deep existential crisis - all bluescreen, head empty, et cetera. Raphael glances down at him just in case, because he's a pretty decent guy that way, before he steps forward, closer to Claude. "I mean, I figure I got the gist of it," Raphael says, frowning. "Anything else'll probably just go straight over my head."   
  
"It really cannot be that simple, Raphel," Lorenz says, a little weakly. Poor guy. Claude ponders buying him a drink at the hotel, when they get back.   
  
Raphael shrugs. "Sure it can," he says simply. "The saints were involved, and Dimitri was somewhere he shouldn'ta been, so he had to go back after a lil' while. All the details, that's just the sides and not the main dish, right?" Which, okay, Claude can't really say he's _wrong_ there, although that's certainly a way to put it... Stepping closer, Raphael stops right there in front of him. "I think there's just one thing that's really important right now, Claude, and it's that you're far from happy."   
  
Jeez. Leave it to Raphael to cut straight to the heart of the matter - in emotional terms as much as the core of an issue. Claude keeps trying to smile, because it's all he really knows how to do. "You know, most people wouldn't say that after having an actual divine saint appear in front of them, Raph."   
  
"You don't usually surround yourself with most people, 'tho," Raphael says, grinning a little bit, and that actually makes Claude bark out a laugh, even though his heart has sunk somewhere in the vicinity of his stomach. Soon, the grin mellows out, and Raphael holds out his arms. "Anyway... What matters to me, above _anything_ else, is how good you're doing... and I don't think you're doing real great. C'mere."   
  
Well... At this point, Claude supposes there's no point in denying it... and, while it's selfish of him, honestly, he wants something to hold onto, with his heart feeling adrift as it is. So he steps forward, and he lets Raphael just yank him into a hug that feels as though it will push all his aimless parts back together.   
  
That's one of many great things about Raphael, honestly. His hugs always feel so warm and solid, like the world will still manage to keep its shape after all is said and done.   
  
Muscles like Raphael's almost seem like they should block out all sound in the rest of the world by default, but Claude still manages to pick up on the careful steps that move across the dirt and weeds. After a moment, a hesitant hand goes to lay upon his shoulder - well, you know, what parts of him are still able to be reached with Raphael having wrapped him up in the tightest hug known to man.   
  
Lorenz's voice follows shortly after his touch. "I think... Raphael may actually be on the right track, despite my earlier misgivings. We can focus on... recovering from a great deal which has happened in a very short amount of time."   
  
"Yeah." Claude takes in a deep breath, closing his eyes and just focusing on the way Raphael is holding him tight. "And we wouldn't really have the time for a proper conversation out here anyway, when we need to make it back around to the main entrance... We'll focus on the destruction of the entrance first, and working hard to get the head of who's behind all of this. And then, later on..." Another deep breath. In. Out. "We can talk about what just happened... and has been happening for months now." He smiles, a little dry, a little bitter, against Raphael's shirt. "We can use my room. I mean, why not, right?"   
  
Why not, when it's now devoid of one more person, and so very empty?   
  
Claude tries not to think about it, as they make their way back towards the mine entrance.   
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
"Seriously, how long do you plan on pining while not telling us anything?"   
  
"I have no idea what you mean," Claude says mildly, as he pulls back the paper a little more on his honey-sesame chicken salad wrap. Right now, it's at its most perfect temperature for eating, but it might not stay that way the longer they all continue to eat lunch up here in the Golden Deer's greenhouse.   
  
Hilda huffs, giving her very best puppy dog eyes and accompanying pout. It could maybe land a little better, if she wasn't trying to eat seafood chowder. It's a little hard to come off as sulking with one's cheeks stuffed full of potato. "Come on now... You totally know what I mean."  
  
Stabbing her poached salmon with some vindictiveness, no doubt getting a couple grains of rice while she's at it, Lysithea sighs. It's a little more frustrated than Hilda's own attempts to get him to spill. "Both of you need to stop playing cute," she scolds them. "Claude, you've been sulking for a _year_ ever since Dimitri had to move back north." She narrows her eyes slowly. "Or at least that's what you've been saying, even though you've been acting as though you broke up with him."   
  
"I didn't know my love life was that fascinating," Claude comments, taking a large bite of his wrap.   
  
"It is when you return from a business trip where you were already subject to an attempted kidnapping _twice_ , but suddenly devoid of your overprotective boyfriend, and you keep acting vague about just where he's gone besides _north_ , for _family_ reasons."   
  
"It'd be ppppppppretty rude of me to talk about Dimitri's personal life while he's not here."   
  
" _And_ you've been wearing that ear cuff he got you almost nonstop, both to work and anytime we manage to see you doing anything _outside_ of work."   
  
Claude has to resist reaching up to touch the very ear cuff that Lysithea is mentioning, that pretty curling gold dragon with the same emerald eyes as him. Instead, he shovels more food into his mouth and just makes a very muffled hum. "I'm allowed to treasure things that my boyfriend got me. I'm not entirely sure how that's strange...?"   
  
Lysithea's eyes shine in that stubborn way she so often gets, as though she's going to get an answer out of him, or shove him off the top of the Golden Deer building from sheer frustration.   
  
Frankly, Claude would prefer the second option. He'd at least have a decent chance of hitting a wyvern, or a pegasus, on the way down. Preferably a wyvern; any pegasus would take the opportunity to bite an ear off, or any other body part that had the misfortune of getting too close. "What about the fact that whenever we ask Raphael about what happened, he just says that we need to ask you?" she says.  
  
"It's not polite t'ask about that kind of thing," Raphael says staunchly, still digging into an enormous bucket of shake'n'bake potatoes. Apparently they have some sort of ranch seasoning on them. The smell is, honestly, tempting. "You gotta talk to Claude about that, Lysithea."   
  
"I-!" Lysithea pauses, having put her fork down so that she can clench her fists fruitlessly in the air before she takes a slow and deep breath in and relaxes. There's no real point in getting angry at Raphael. Either one starts feeling guilty, or it goes completely over his head... You know, for friends, who don't really get to deal with Raphael being angry. Lysithea exhales again. "That's what I was trying to do, Raph."   
  
Poor Lysithea, although Claude has to admit (privately, to himself) that she's right to be bewildered by Raphael's ever steady response to any line of questioning regarding Dimitri. Much like his fellow and currently missing blond, Raphael is also far more earnest than anything else. When he's usually asked a question, he doesn't particularly hesitate in giving an answer, whether that's the simple truth, or an often simpler "I don't know". For Raphael to stonewall such a simple question... Well, it's probably a dead giveaway in itself.   
  
And it's not just Lysithea that Raphael has said this sort of thing to. Ignatz watches the exchange with a thoughtful frown, and his fork stirs idly through some sort of taco pasta creation. It smells amazing, from where Claude is sitting... but apparently it's the furthest thing from Ignatz's mind.   
  
"It's not that we're all asking about this to be nosy, Claude," he says quietly, which manages to keep their other friends quiet themselves for a moment. "It's just... It's been a year now since Dimitri had to leave so suddenly. It's felt like you've been despondent, ever since then."   
  
Despondent... is that it. Claude thinks of his apartment, where he still hasn't really dared to put back all of the things he'd initially moved out of it - things he'd moved a lot by himself, but with Dimitri's help when he hadn't gotten sick from his first shots in the modern world or from eating so many failed omelettes. After a whole year, his fridge is empty again, no longer filled with fresh fruits and meat so that Dimitri could cook for him. There's just the pre-made stuff, now. Things he can heat up, and that never really satisfy his mouth even if they manage well enough for his stomach.   
  
A king doesn't need a smart phone in a time where the name "Faerghus" was still relevant, and the same could be said for a laptop... So he still has those as well, that he takes the time and effort to carry around with him everywhere... just in case. It wasn't really hard to get into Dimitri's account, either on his laptop, or that virtual dragon site. Claude keeps them fed; it wouldn't feel right to just abandon the account completely.   
  
Honestly, this is all pretty pathetic, if he thinks about it, but Claude isn't really sure what else he can do. His options for _grieving_ are almost a little limited, considering the absolutely bizarre circumstances that brought him and Dimitri together in the first place, and the bizarre circumstances that took Dimitri away from him.   
  
All he can really do is just... sort of and very slowly get over it, even as he stumbles upon things in his apartment that remind him of Dimitri all the time: shoes a size larger at the entryway, a bottle of oil for armor tucked in a cupboard, fur that had stuck to the other side of a cushion from that cloak.   
  
"It's fine," Claude tries to say reassuringly, because, seriously, not a lot of options, but Marianne finally speaks up.   
  
"If there's anything we can do to help, Claude... We'd like to." She presses a hand to her chest, her own pasta box laid to be forgotten on her lap. "This is something that... all of us feel."   
  
All of them, huh? Claude turns his head to grin at Lorenz, who just shoves some szechuan sauce covered eggplant into his mouth. "Why Lorenz, I used to think that you might try to stage a coup on me, but I didn't think it would take _this_ shape."   
  
Having been caught, all Lorenz can do is chew for time, before he finishes with a sigh. "I really did try to stop them," he insists, resting the heel of his palm along his brow. "I thought it was not in good taste to press so heavily. Still..." He pauses for a moment, trying to decide if he should really say anything or not. Claude would kinda rather he didn't, honestly, but he doesn't stop Lorenz when he keeps going. "You really... have appeared to be in a rather poor state, although I can imagine why."   
  
For Lorenz, who was there, well, it should be rather obvious. After all... It really has been a year, now. In fact, it's soon going to be a year exactly since he'll have last seen Dimitri's face, basked in that radiant smile, felt those lips upon his own. Claude really is too smart for his own good; he's become more aware with every passing week how close the days are coming to that one day in particular. That reminder.   
  
"Well, I can't really get angry at all of you for being _worried_ ," he says, because he appreciates it. He really does. This is the kind of place that... he's been searching for perhaps most of his life, now, ever since the competition between his siblings really became far too apparent for any of them to ignore. "But I promise, I'm fine." Claude waves his wrap around, putting on that same relaxed smile he so often does. The kind of smile he's often had to wear, because it's one of the better defenses he has. "If it's anything at all, then it's just a little bit of long distance blues. There's no need to fuss about it so much. Besides, we knew Dimitri could leave and everything would be fine. Thanks to that last ditch desperate effort of my dear enemy, we were able to get a witness and plenty of evidence to make sure there's no reason for me to need a bodyguard, right?"   
  
"I think there are still more people who could give you trouble than that group," Ignatz says with a slight shake of his head. He's watching Claude carefully, no doubt to check if he's really as happy as he's trying to say he is.  
  
Fortunately, Claude is capable of acting through this much, and he smiles at all of them. "Listen... That's always been true for a long time now, and I've always managed to deal with it well enough. None of those hypothetical other people have really taken any actions, and we managed to take out the most recent threat - that last meeting in court couldn't have gone more perfect. I'll be safe." In the pit of his chest, there's a faint pang. "I made a promise to Dimitri, after all."   
  
Leonie spears a few things of coconut bacon from her vegan-style pieroggi. "You say that with such _obvious_ love, you know," she comments. "But you're still absolutely miserable, now that he's not here in Derdriu. I'm surprised that you seemed to last for so long before he was able to make the trip here."   
  
"Ha. I wonder that myself," Claude laughs, and yet it's the truth. How did he survive without that warmth besides him, keeping him going? Now, all he can do is hold that memory close in the various little things, like a room that's steadily smelling more like dust than Dimitri, and the account named _tempestking_ over on that silly little virtual dragon site.   
  
One day, he supposes he'll move on... and he'll stop hurting like this so much, thinking of Dimitri. Claude isn't sure if that makes him feel better, or not, thinking about that inevitability. Then again, he's not the only person to feel this way, even if the circumstances are most certainly unique to him and him alone. There's no way that kind of thing would ever happen so regularly, after all. Even if he honestly wishes he could have another chance-   
  
The world  
  
takes a step  
  
to the left.   
  
Around him, he sees his various friends pause, still sitting along the little brick walls which hold back the flowers of the greenhouse - Hilda frowning as she takes in something odd, Leonie stopping her fork in mid-air, Ignatz raising a hand to his head. From the corner of Claude's eye, he thinks he can see Lorenz's own eyes flash with recognition... but Claude doesn't wait for him to say anything. He's already looking up, towards the ceiling.   
  
Towards the familiar symbol he's seen twice in his life now, etching itself against pure air.   
  
Claude feels his heart stop, so very hopeful while trying to temper expectations. This sort of thing can't happen to the exact same two people, after all. There's just no way. So even if it's happening to him, for it to happen to Dimitri, for them to have a second chance-   
  
A blur of blond, blue, and black falls from the symbol in the air, hitting the floor with a mingled thump and the clatter of metal on metal. Claude's heart smacks right into his ribcage.   
  
Except then that blur is followed by a _lot more_ of them, and Claude's heart does a sort of about-turn in confusion, despite the physical impossibility of such an action. There's a blur of brown and white, then black and ginger, blonde-teal, a particular and somber kind of navy blue - even Claude's brain can't quite take in everything fast enough, and, soon, there's a whole pile of just... _people_ right there, in such a clusterfuck of a tangle that Claude is left blinking for a moment.   
  
He's not the only one. After a beat of silence where it doesn't even sound like anyone is capable of breathing, Leonie speaks up. "I don't want to sound crude or anything," she says slowly, "but what the _fuck_."   
  
From the pile of dazed bodies, one in particular suddenly pushes up in complete ignorance of all the others stacked on top of him, and some of the people who just fell through a hole in time go tumbling off with mingled shouts of surprise and protest. It's a particular body that Claude knows very well, with a brilliant blue eye that makes him think of home, and a smile that never fails to get his stupid little heart fluttering.   
  
Helped by a guy even taller than him, Dimitri scrambles out from the heap of people, and kneels down in front of him with that wonderful kind of knighthood that's always made Claude feel special. "Claude," he says, breathless. "I know not the time, or how long we've been apart, but... May I still act as your bodyguard, and be by your side?"   
  
There's honestly a _lot_ to worry about here. Claude knows he should be the responsible person here, and get it all sorted out before anything else. Yet he can't stop the grin that spreads across his face so strongly that it almost hurts. "I can think of something far better for you to be," he says, and, with his lunch set aside, he leans down to press a more proper kiss to Dimitri's mouth.   
  
His lips are a little chapped, when he kisses them, but that can't really be helped... and, honestly, Claude doesn't really care. All that matters is that they're _Dimitri's_ lips, and Claude allows himself to sink down into that sensation in a way he couldn't truly allow himself when he kissed him the first time. Honestly, he'd love to just sit there and kiss him for hours... But they're kind of interrupted when an unfamiliar voice suddenly goes, "What the _hell_ is going on!?"   
  
Right. They're not exactly having a _private_ moment, here. Claude breaks the kiss, and takes stock of the.... eight people that have slowly managed to untangle themselves from the pile that fell into existence there are the end of the little greenhouse pathway. Claude is kind of glad that him and everyone else decided to eat by sitting on the ledges along the flowers... and not in the slightly more open space near the saint shrines and the bench, where Dimitri and the others all fell.   
  
The speaker from before is a young man shorter than Dimitri, but roughly around the same age... Claude thinks. Maybe a little older? With dark blue hair pulled back into a ponytail, contrasting to that harsh dawn glare. Dimitri pushes himself back up onto his feet properly, hands held out as though he's dealing with an angry pet. "Well, it's going to sound rather ridiculous, Felix, but..."   
  
"Don't worry about it, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd," a childish and yet mature voice says, far behind the time-displaced group. There's a jolt from all of them, and Claude's own people too. Lunchtime has now been _postponed_ ; every single one of them gets to their feet, with Hilda standing on top of the garden ledges and Lysithea hauling herself up onto Raphael's shoulder. They all find a way to see over the heads of their sudden visitors, who've scooted onto the pathway instead of the area right in front of the shrines.   
  
That would be because that is an area which is suddenly _occupied_.   
  
Claude can recognize two of the figures right away, because it's rather hard to forget the faces of two actual saints since he's run into them. And the other two figures who are squeezed onto that tiny bench... Well, they're the same as their twins - Crimson Flower and Silver Snow. Claude isn't entirely sure which is which, although he likes to think he could make a decent guess.   
  
Then, floating above them, a mass of green hair and so many braids of fabric that float about her instead of simply hanging properly from her body... A young girl, wearing a tiara and a look of exasperation. Claude is at least pretty sure that part isn't directed at _them_ , even though she has her head turned in their direction.   
  
Well aware of how she now has everyone's attention, the clearly divine entity heaves out a sigh. "I shall take full responsibility for the mistakes that these four have wrought," she says, pointing down at the saints in front of her. "Simply control your people, and I shall explain in a short moment."   
  
Alright, _well_. Claude certainly isn't going to let a chance like this slip past him. Wrapping his arms around one of Dimitri's, Claude uses his not-entirely-fake-boyfriend as a way to shove through the crowd. It's honestly pretty easy, not only because Dimitri is a pretty solid guy, but because the rest of the group seems to react with a certain degree of respect and care to the blond. In only a second or two, Claude is at the front of the group, right before one of the more ultimate divine entities.   
  
"Now, you don't have to waste your time with that," he says mildly, putting on his best smile. "Me and Dimitri here have already experienced more than enough of what's happened, haven't we? It seems like you have a pretty important conversation to have with the four saints here... We wouldn't want to take away from that too much. So why don't we help out with the bare bone basics?"   
  
Twisting around in mid-air as though physics are simply a thing to be disregarded, the "girl" leans forward with her arms crossed and casts an evaluating eye on him. "So Claude von Riegan... You know, I had to keep an eye on you ever since the last time."   
  
"What an honor," Claude says cheerfully, and wonders just how many people have had an eye kept on them from what he's pretty sure is one of the first gods of the world.   
  
At least the commentary makes her smile a little, traces of amusement clinging to her expression. "I'm glad you understand that it is as such. Still, that means I know you. This isn't the kind of thing that you would do without trying to get _something_ out of it. So." She moves one hand upwards and snaps her fingers. "What deal are you hoping to strike, Claude von Riegan?"   
  
Ooooh, she really is a god.... or, you know, anyone who has gotten to know him for a decent amount of time. Claude puts on his most innocent "who, me?" expression as he spreads his hands out. "Why, I'm not hoping to strike any sort of deal! I was simply thinking, well... The last time that all of this happened, I was able to keep Dimitri relatively well cared for simply by using my own salary for things like clothes, and extra food. How _ever_ , well, with an additional eight people, that's going to be a little tricky, especially considering they really don't have any documentation to show they actually 'exist' in this time period..."   
  
Leaning back, hair drifting about like the sea that's just in view of the greenhouse, she raises an eyebrow. "From what I understand, however, you've just been given the vast majority of the sums from those who had tried to strike your success down," she says. Oh, so one of the oldest gods in existence is keeping an eye on business news. That's interesting to know. Good on her for being knowledgeable. "It appears to me that you suddenly have an overflow of funds with which you must use, if you wish to remain legal under the eyes of Fodlish law."   
  
"I'm quite honored that you keep an eye on little things like that."   
  
"Don't make such jokes at me." She flicks her fingers in Claude's direction. "Still... I understand the issue that you are having, even with money not being a concern. Then I shall do what I can, and make is so that there is something temporarily in place while we deal with this issue. It won't be as easy to deal with as before, after all..."   
  
And with that, her look slowly drifts back to the four saints. They all look like adults, in contrast to her, and they regularly deal with things beyond mortal ken and all that.. but there's a sense of awkwardness that flows from all four of them as she stares pointedly.   
  
Well! That sounds like a problem that the saints are going to have to deal with. For now, all Claude does is beam widely. "Much appreciated!" he says. "Then I'll leave you to it..." With that said, he turns away from actual divine beings, and looks over to see two _very_ different groups staring at him and Dimitri with wide eyes or squinting stares of bewilderment.   
  
The only person who seems to be taking this decently in stride enough would be Raphael, still digging through his enormous bag of potatoes patiently. Really, the only guy who could see actual saints, and still view finishing his lunch as a priority of equal importance...   
  
"We shouldn't be rude," Dimitri says suddenly, crossing his arms and nodding. "Before anything else, we should at least introduce ourselves. Pardon us, Claude. My allies are still rather dazed from the experience."   
  
In Dimitri's group, a guy with ginger hair folds his hands behind his head, and smiles in a way that Claude is rather familiar with, on account of making similar smiles himself. "I'd say that's kind of understating things, Your Highness," he drawls, and allows the blond girl at his side to drive her elbow _into_ his side. "Your Majesty, sorry."   
  
Out of all of them, the only person who could claim to be dealing with this at least a _little_ better would be Lorenz, but even he jolts at the terminology that the redhead is using. " _Pardon_ me," he says, eyes going wide, "but - Dimitri, you're a _king_? Wait, a time traveler who knew of Faerghus..." He presses his fingertips to his mouth, and Claude takes maybe a _little_ more delight than he probably should watching the gears turn behind Lorenz's eyes. He knows Lorenz has figured it out when he goes just a little paler, and stares pointedly at- " _Claude von Riegan_."   
  
Lorenz would never let such foul and crude words such as swears fall from his lips, but Claude _swears_ he can almost hear the "fucking" in the middle of his name there.   
  
"Wait, he's a king!?" Lysithea perks up from where she's sitting on one of Raphael's shoulders, which are broad enough to hold her up with absolute ease. "Claude, that was magic just then, wasn't it!? You have to tell me exactly how it happened-"   
  
Claude would love to know why Lysithea thinks _he_ knows how time travel magical accidents work. Fortunately, while he definitely doesn't know, there's someone else who definitely does, and she takes a break from silently saying _something_ to the four saints so that she can glance back at all of them.   
  
"The first time, it happened because an individual was got caught up in an explosion, since he refused to simply let it happen," she drawls, and Dimitri glances away in embarrassment. "This time, however, well... All you need to know for this immediate moment is that in an attempt to fix it, _someone_ -" Crimson Flowers huffs, quietly. "-tried to go a little faster than recommended, and the tear opened up a little more again during a certain point in time." The god raises an eyebrow. "Now, I believe you all had introductions to do, lest you be thought of as _rude_."   
  
In all the religious texts he's ever read for any religion, Claude can't say he's ever heard of a... Well, he's definitely read about some gods who'd do a lot of things to anyone who wasn't the proper amount of respectful, but he's pretty sure this god isn't one of them. Still, better safe than sorry, and he grins to his coworkers. "You heard her. Let's all line up, shall we?"   
  
Left in a daze, his Deer shift back to one side of the little pathway, and Claude watches as Raphael makes sure to grab everyone's food - just in case, apparently. Well, he always is of the opinion that you never waste food... In the meanwhile, a man similar to Felix from before steps forward and smiles at Dimitri. "Of course... We shall, as always, follow your lead, Your Majesty."   
  
Claude wouldn't say that Dimitri's team is exactly more _calm_ than his Deer - he can see an excitement bubbling behind the eyes of a short girl with hair almost as brilliantly red as the relaxed guy from earlier - but they certainly seem more composed in the face of something outrageous. There's a military kind of precision to the way they line up, and give their names. In comparison, Claude's team is still polite, but not nearly as serious. Then again, a lot is happening all at once. He can't blame them for being more than a little confused.   
  
Well, they can be confused all they want. Claude.... can't feel anything else but the excited and hopeful flutter in his chest, even though he knows that he shouldn't get too excited for this, either. It's going to be the same ending eventually, right? He knows that, and he knows how miserable he's been all these months in Dimitri's absence. He shouldn't expect too much. He really should do his best to not expect too much.   
  
And yet.... He can't help but feel buoyed when Dimitri's cloaked arm brushes against his own, and one gauntled hand tentatively goes to touch his fingers. Claude glances up, looks into that comforting blue of Dimitri's own hopeful gaze, and he smiles.   
  
They were supposed to have a year last time. If this incident is even more of a mess than it was before.. Maybe he'll finally be able to have all that time. Maybe he'll be able to have a little more.   
  
"Okay, so Marianne, do you remember around a year ago, before I hired Dimitri on as my bodyguard, how you told me to take a break, and so I came up here...?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, this used to be a whole entire oneshot, but I felt the need to break it down into chapters upon posting, just for ease of access, ha ha... 
> 
> Anyway, once again, I hope you enjoyed this, Ash, and the same for everyone else who's read this!


End file.
